Samsung Unveils 2019 Notebook 9 Pen 13 & 15
by Anton Shilov on December 14, 2018 1:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Intel
- Samsung
- NVIDIA
- Notebooks
- Notebook 9
- Core 8th Gen
- Whiskey Lake
Samsung on Thursday introduced its next-generation Notebook 9 convertible laptops that will hit the market next year. The new lineup of convertibles includes models with a 13.3-inch display or a 15-inch display. These models and are aimed at professionals who need performance of Intel’s Core i7 CPUs along with convenience of a stylus in a relatively portable package. Also notable is that the new systems are the industry’s first PCs from a renowned brand to feature a UFS card reader.
Samsung’s Notebook 9 lineup of notebooks is well known and respected for its portability and moderate pricing. The company has been expanding this product family for quite a while now, introducing the Notebook 9 Pro in mid-2017, the Notebook 9 Pen in late 2017, and the Notebook 9 Spin convertibles somewhere along the line, creating some confusion. Since the “Pro” and the “Pen” have a lot in common, it looks like Samsung is going to merge these two lineups into one starting next year. Since the new Notebook 9 Pen hybrid laptops will have to address slightly different audiences, Samsung had to significantly alter design of its 13.3-inch Notebook 9 Pen convertible machine: the new one features a higher-capacity battery, but a bit thicker profile and a higher weight (15.9 mm, 1.12 kilograms).
Despite different display sizes (yet both featuring a Full-HD resolution) and overall dimensions (see the table below for exact numbers), the new Samsung Notebook 9 Pen 13 and Notebook 9 Pen 15 resemble each other a lot. Both systems come in a CNC-machined aluminum chassis with Ocean Blue finish.
The new units ship with Samsung’s new S Pen stylus that is stored inside the chassis, can sense 4,000 levels of pressure, has tilt sensitivity, and features a reduced latency when compared to the existing model. Perhaps, the most interesting feature of the tiny device is swappable tip for different types of work. Both machines are equipped with a 54 Wh battery that provides up to 15 hours of battery life on one charge in the best-case scenario.
Hardware wise, both Notebook 9 Pen systems are based on Intel’s 8th Gen Core i7 processor (think quad-core Whiskey Lake) accompanied by LPDDR3 memory, and a PCIe/NVMe SSD. The 13.3-inch model relies on Intel Graphics UHD 620 iGPU, whereas the 15-inch SKU has an NVIDIA’s GeForce MX150 discrete GPU paired with 2 GB of RAM for extra graphics oomph.
I/O capabilities are strong selling points of Samsung’s Notebook 9 Pen. The upcoming hybrid PCs from Samsung have a 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth controller featuring Gigabit-class performance, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a USB Type-C connector, stereo speakers co-developed with AKG, a microphone, a TRRS audio input/output, and a UFS + microSD card reader. The latter deserves a special attention as this is the first time when a renowned PC maker launches a laptop with a UFS card reader. Being the main driving force behind the UFS specification, Samsung yet has to support these high-performance cards on its other products and we can only wonder why the company has not done so thus far. In the meantime, the fact that Samsung’s new laptops have a UFS card reader may indicate that the company has plans to enable UFS support on other devices as well.
When it comes to security, Samsung’s Notebook 9 Pen systems are outfitted with a fingerprint reader along with an HD webcam featuring IR sensors for Windows Hello facial recognition.
General Specifications of Samsung Notebook Notebook 9 Pen | ||||
Notebook 9 Pen 13 (2018) |
Notebook 9 Pen 13 (2019) |
Notebook 9 Pen 15 (2019) |
||
Launch | 2018 | 2019 | 2019 | |
Display | Type | 13.3" RealViewTouch | 13.3" RealViewTouch (?) | 15.0" RealViewTouch (?) |
Resolution | 1920×1080 | |||
Brightness | Typical: 350 cd/m² Outdoor: 500 cd/m² |
? | ? | |
CPU | 8th Gen Intel Core i7 (KBL-R) | 8th Gen Intel Core i7 (Whiskey Lake?) |
||
Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 630 (24 EUs) | Intel UHD Graphics 630 (24 EUs) | NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2 GB | |
Memory | Up to 16 GB DDR4 | LPDDR3 | ||
Storage | SSD | Up to 512 GB PCIe | PCIe/NVMe SSD | |
Card | microSD card reader | UFS + microSD card reader | ||
Wireless Connectivity | 2x2 802.11ac BT 4.1 |
2x2 802.11ac Wave 2 BT |
||
Thunderbolt 3 | - | 2 × Thunderbolt 3 | ||
USB | 1 × USB 3.0 Type-A 1 × USB 3.0 Type-C |
1 × USB 3.0 Type-C | ||
Display Outputs | HDMI | DP 1.2 via TB3 | ||
Webcam | 720p webcam with IR sensors | |||
Battery | 39 Wh | 54 Wh | ||
Audio | 2 × 1.5 W speakers 1 × microphone 1 × TRRS jack |
Stereo speakers with ThunderAmp 1 × microphone 1× TRRS jack |
||
Dimensions | Width | 310.5 mm | 12.22" | 307.9 mm | 12.12" | 347.9 mm | 13.7" |
Depth | 206.6 mm | 8.13" | 206.2 | 8.11" | 229.1 mm | 9" | |
Thickness | 14.4 - 16.5 mm 0.56" - 0.65" |
14.9 - 15.9 0.58" - 0.63" |
16.9 mm 0.66" |
|
Weight | 995 g | 2.19 lbs | 1.12 kg | 2.47 lbs | 1.56 kg | 3.44 lbs |
Samsung plans to demonstrate the new Notebook 9 Pen machines next month at CES. Also at the show the company will disclose exact specs of the convertible notebooks as well as prices.
Related Reading
- Samsung Announces New Notebook 9 Pen and Three New Notebook 9 (2018) Laptops
- Samsung Announces Notebook 9 Pro 2-in-1, Includes S Pen Stylus
- Samsung Unveils Galaxy Book2: 12-Inch, Snapdragon 850 with X20 LTE, 20 Hrs
- Samsung Updates Notebook 9: Kaby Lake, USB-C, Starts at 816 Grams
- UFS - USB Bridge Controllers for Card Readers, Hosts Incoming from JMicron & SMI
- Samsung Rolls Out Its First UFS Cards: SSD Performance in Card Form-Factor
Source: Samsung
Samsung plans to demonstrate the new Notebook 9 Pen machines next month at CES. Also at the show the company will disclose exact specs of the convertible notebooks as well as prices.
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PeachNCream - Friday, December 14, 2018 - link
There are only so many ways to design a convertible notebook, but I dislike the sorts that flip the screen around to rest on the backside of the system. It leaves the keyboard exposed to potential damage. I could see someone sliding said computer in tablet mode during which a key or two are somehow snagged and pulled loose. Those little plastic scissor mechanisms aren't very durable.HStewart - Friday, December 14, 2018 - link
I rarely use my Dell XPS 15 2in1 or Dell XPS 13 2in1 that way - usually only on bed - but I can see useful that way when using it like a tabletWhat they need is to make a mechanism where screen has option where it slip on front of keyboard and also slip like a notebook for caring around. This possible could be down with hinge in the middle of back when use as tablet.
Inteli - Friday, December 14, 2018 - link
What, you mean like the Dell XPS 12? That thing that was already tried and presumably cancelled for being too complicated?HStewart - Friday, December 14, 2018 - link
XPS 13 2in1 and XPS 15 2in1 13 2in1 was release last year and 15 2in1 was release last March or April. XPS 12 is very old model and not related to this discussion.jospoortvliet - Thursday, December 20, 2018 - link
Well it did what you propose and didn’t work so it sounds relevant to me ;-)wr3zzz - Friday, December 14, 2018 - link
I have the HP Spectre Folio and really like how the screen slides into tablet mode instead of folding backward.HStewart - Friday, December 14, 2018 - link
I also have Samsung TabPro S which is actually tablet and has external keyboard - it has old y chip and much slower. but it like low end model of Microsoft Surface.dgingeri - Sunday, December 16, 2018 - link
After owning one for 5 years, I agree, wholeheartedly. I have a Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (7558, specific model) for 5 years now, and I have always been extra nervous using it in tablet mode because of the keyboard.I like the design like the Surface or the old Dell XPS 10, where all the computing components are behind the screen. It allows a detachable keyboard to also have an extra battery for longer life. Then again, a lot of people want their systems so thin that such designs don't make much headway. I prefer my laptop have a little thickness to it, so I don't accidentally break it in half. The super thin laptops make me too nervous, and there are WAY too many sacrifices to have one that thin, like single channel memory and being unupgradable.
HStewart - Friday, December 14, 2018 - link
It looks like Samsung is expanding it Windows notebook lines - when Pen computers using from the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 line - that looks like same penI would also expect they also have Galaxy Book 3 with Whiskey Lake CPU's or Sunny Cove based and also using same Pen
s.yu - Sunday, December 16, 2018 - link
That's a much bigger pen, like about twice the diameter and 33% longer.