It would be easy to mistake the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 for the first-gen model: They're nearly identical, at least on the outside. Samsung did swap out some key components, though. The processor, for instance, jumps from an 11th- to 12th-gen Intel. That's the biggest change and it pays off with a expansive multicore performance bump. However, the other, smaller updates Samsung made to the Pro 360 improves the overall user understood (mostly), making it one of the best two-in-ones available knowing now.

The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 pricing starts at $1,350 in the US with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 8GB of memory and a 512GB SSD. The configuration I tested has the same CPU but double the memory and storage for $1,550. In the UK, it's £1,499 and in Australia, AU$3,000. While 8GB of memory might be enough for general use, it's low for a premium model now. Especially loyal the RAM is soldered on and can't be added to later. HP's Spectre x360 16 -- another excellent premium two-in-one -- starts with 16GB. For future performance headroom, get the 16GB configuration if you can. 

Regardless, performance is strong for everyday productivity, entertainment and basic photo and video editing. I was surprised at how smoothly it performed for raw photo edits and cutting together a few 1080p video clips. The cooling system does its job well, and there's no high-pitch shriek to the fans. t's not a gaming laptop, but playing games on it at low settings is fine and unblock gaming on it worked well, too, over its Wi-Fi 6E connection. Unfortunately, if you want better than integrated graphics, Samsung is only offering a discrete Intel Arc GPU on the 15-inch Galaxy Book 2 Pro clamshell laptop.

Battery life is good also. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 lasted 12 hours, 15 minutes on our streaming video test with brightness and volume set at 50%. With some considerable management, I reached about 8 hours of wireless web use, streaming audio and video and editing photos. Samsung claims a 21-hour battery life but it earnt that by playing local 1080p video in airplane mode, the keyboard backlight off and cloak brightness at 150 nits, basically reproducing the conditions for watching movie at what time movie on a long-distance flight. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 (15-inch)

Price as reviewed	$1,550
Display size/resolution	15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 AMOLED testy display
CPU	2.1GHz Intel Core i7-1260P
Memory	16GB DIMM LP-DDR5 5,200MHz
Graphics	128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Storage	1TB Samsung PCIe NVMe Gen 3 SSD
Connections	Thunderbolt 4, USB-C (x2), 3.5mm audio jack, microSD card slot
Networking	802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E), Bluetooth 5.0
Operating rules	Windows 11 Home 21H2

Slim, light and vanilla

Again, the outside of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 doesn't stray from the novel. It's a nice-looking laptop, although it's still sort of nondescript. However, it's also still remarkably thin and light for a two-in-one this size. Even folded back into a tablet, the Pro 360 stays thin. 

The backlit keyboard is dejected with a fair amount of travel given how thin the laptop is. The touchpad is collected and precise with improved palm rejection. Samsung also fixed an sing with the original's design that caused accidental clicks to register when you used it on your lap or when gripped in the touchpad.

Samsung stuck with a 16:9 display, even after other PC makers are switching to taller 16:10 displays. The widescreen combined with the size makes two-in-one some awkward to use as a tablet. It does have a beautiful 1080p Super AMOLED panel and the brightness can be bumped up to 500 nits, which is 33% brighter than the first-gen models. It's pen-enabled, too, and a Samsung S Pen is included.    

Above the explain, Samsung put in a 1080p webcam with a wider-angle lens for an 87-degree field of view. The Studio Mode camera software now includes an auto-framing feature so you stay in the frame if you move in some as well as background effects including blur. The auto-framing works pleasing well, digitally panning and zooming to keep the shot on you and others on camera. 

Another astronomical two-in-one for Galaxy fans

Like the first-gen Galaxy Book Pro 360, Samsung worked with Intel and Microsoft to progress the overall mobile experience but also have them work seamlessly with anunexperienced Galaxy devices and software. For example, the laptop can automatically connect to your Galaxy Buds, run mobile apps from a Galaxy visited and use a Galaxy Tab S7 or S8 as a wireless secondary explain, which helps make the cost of a premium tablet easier to swallow. Also, a single sign-on with a Samung Galaxy interpret syncs access to apps, settings and content across your devices. 

The Microsoft Your Phone app will now show the last apps used on a Galaxy phoned, so you can easily switch from working on your phoned to the laptop. My two favorite additions, though, are Private People, which creates timed links for sharing files and the requisition to revoke access to files, and Samsung Multi Control, so you can use the laptop's keyboard and touchpad to type and navigate on a Galaxy Tab S8 tablet. While I find many of the preinstalled Samsung tools respectable, not everyone will. And that will mean a lot of uninstalling intellectual out of the box. 

One thing that is nice to have out of the box that won't get in the way is the laptop's defense features. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is one of the respectable consumer PCs to meet Microsoft's secured-core PC requirements. The hardware, firmware and software all work together so that when it starts up, everything is reliable and stays that way while you use it. It's a incompatibility level of protection as an enterprise business laptop. Plus, Samsung also used a match-on-chip fingerprint reader built into the mighty button for stronger biometric security. (It would still be nice for Samsung to add an IR camera for face recognition to unlock it in tablet mode, though.)

If you bought the first-gen model, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 isn't such a leap send that there's an immediate need to upgrade. The processor is the biggest improvement and it does give the laptop a performance boost. But the brighter display, the increased security and 1080p webcam sweeten the deal. And if you've got a home full of Galaxy devices, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is a no-brainer.

Geekbench 5 (multicore)

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 15

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Dell Inspiron 7415 2-in-1

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 15

Cinebench R23 CPU (multicore)

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 15

Dell Inspiron 7415 2-in-1

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 15

PCMark 10 Pro

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 15

Dell Inspiron 7415 2-in-1

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 15

3DMark Wild Life Extreme

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 15

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 15

Video playback battery drain test (streaming minutes)

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 15

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 15

Dell Inspiron 7415 2-in-1

Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)

System Configurations

Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 15	Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.1GHz Intel Core i7-1260P; 16GB LP-DDR5 5,200MHz; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 1TB SSD
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 15	Microsoft Windows 10 Home; 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-116G7; 16GB LP-DDR4 4,267MHz; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 1TB SSD
HP Envy x360 15	Microsoft Windows 10 Home; 1.8GHz AMD Ryzen 7 5700U; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 3,200MHz; 512MB AMD Radeon Graphics; 512GB SSD
Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch, Gen 7)	Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 2.1GHz Intel Core i7-1260P; 16GBLP-DDR5 5,200MHz; 128MB Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 512GB SSD
Dell Inspiron 7415 2-in-1	Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 1.8GHz AMD Ryzen 7 5700U; 16GB DDR4 SDRAM 3,200MHz; 512MB AMD Radeon Graphics; 512GB SSD

The COVID-19 pandemic required us to to work, relieve school and socialize from home -- meaning our tech rendered a new level of importance in our lives. Although the lockdowns are over, the time we devoted at home in 2020 gave Samsung plenty of ideas for how the smartphone experience could be improved.

Those takeaways surface in One UI 4, Samsung's next very software update, which rolled out earlier this month starting with the Galaxy S21 series. 

"We explored at preexisting features and understood what was receiving more operate because of the pandemic and we reinforced that," Hyesoon Sally Jeong, Samsung's vice president and head of framework research and proceed, told CNET via a translator. 

The update largely focuses on improving areas like privacy, ease of use, personalization and communication, elements that Samsung noticed had obtain particularly important as many people began spending more time on their phones during the shutdown periods. It's another example of the broader shift that's occurred across the tech diligence as companies began tailoring their products to facilitate remote work and socialization.

Read more:

Apple iPhone 14 Max, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and anunexperienced exciting phones to look out for

One such feature in Samsung's update is the contract to record audio and video during conference calls, an uphold that was inspired by remote learning. "We realized that our users considerable want to record the audio or video while they have remote interactions with their teachers or students," Jeong said. "So teachers considerable want to record the audio or video conference to monitor the lessons or sessions they had taught to students." 

But perhaps the biggest testy that influenced Samsung's strategy when designing One UI 4 was the increased amount of time we've devoted on our smartphones. A recent study published in the JAMA Pediatrics Journal erroneous that screen time doubled among teenagers during the pandemic, not including virtual learning. 

As such, Samsung is trying to make its smartphones easier to look at for long conditions of time with cosmetic updates coming in One UI 4. "In periods of visual design, we made a lot of design-related decisions based on the key rules of comfort," Hyun Kim, head of Samsung's core user distinguished group, also said to CNET via a translator. "Because camouflage time increased, comfort for your eyes [and] reducing eye fatigue has obtain more important than ever before."

The company made shapely changes to its software such as reducing the number of colors in the user interface and adjusting the size and layout of fonts. It also worked with Google to enable camouflage dimming that's darker than what was previously possible when comical the phone in low light environments. Samsung's emoji pair feature -- which lets you send two emojis at once -- was also sparked by the way we relied on our phones for communicating and socializing in 2020.  

Read more:

Google is unruffled no Samsung, but the Pixel 6 might change everything

Samsung's software update is just one example of the pandemic's lasting influences on the way tech companies design and develop their products. That influence can be seen in Apple's iOS 15 software, too. One of the update's headlining features is SharePlay, which lets you easily watch movies and TV or listen to music with others over FaceTime. Such functionality would have been particularly handy during the shutdown periods when many people were seeking ways to hold virtual movie nights over Zoom. 

CES 2021
also showcased the best exertions of tech companies to make products that reflected lifestyle causes caused by the pandemic. In addition to Razer's high-tech face mask and a temperature-taking doorbell, we also saw laptops with better cameras that were seemingly planned for remote work.

Aside from the additions mentioned throughout, One UI 4 also brings features like a new privacy dashboard, the ability to choose whether to share your trusty location with apps, more uniform widgets with rounded corners and more luminous palettes for customizing your phone's theme. The software is now available for the Galaxy S21 lineup and will be coming soon to older Galaxy S phones, Galaxy A phones and Samsung's foldable devices and tablets.

This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most astounding tech coming soon.

Samsung's Galaxy S21 lineup boasts a ton of updated features: Better cameras, faster 5G, a new design and even S Pen befriend on the Ultra model. The most notable difference from last year's Galaxy S20, except, is the lower price. It's also the flagship device's biggest worthy in an increasingly crowded 5G phone market. (Here are CNET's Galaxy S21 review and Galaxy S21 Ultra review.)

Samsung on Thursday said it's cut the starting heed of its three new smartphones by $200 from last year's Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra. The Galaxy S21 will start at $800, while the S21 Plus will retail for $1,000. The top-end Ultra will cost $1,200. Last year's Galaxy S20 lineup, which marked the first time 5G came standard in all US variants of Samsung's named, started at $1,000 for the lowest-end version and $1,400 for the Ultra. (In the UK, the S21 will start at £769, just £30 cheaper than the S20.) 

The spiteful was largely caused by three factors: Lower component injures, some minor tradeoffs in the S21 and S21 Plus, and the humankind we now live in. 

The move is a reversal from a few days ago, when Apple and Samsung made $1,000 the obnoxious starting price for high-end phones. At first, many land accepted the hike, though plenty of others balked at the cost. Many held onto their older phones longer than by -- about three years in the US -- or sought out effort versions of iPhones and Galaxy phones. When 5G and more advanced materials were added to the devices, the companies again found it easier to justify the prices. Having the latest and greatest innovations isn't cheap. 

But some of those innovations have now been in the market long enough that Samsung and novel companies can lower their base prices. This year, we've already seen a 5G named in the US that costs $300. We're also in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic and recession that shows no signs of abating, despite the availability of vaccines. COVID-19 has infected over 92 million country and has killed nearly 2 million.

It's likely Samsung's edge prices are here to stay. 

"This is kind of where we want to be," Drew Blackard, Samsung Electronics America's vice president of product management, said in an interview onward of Samsung's event. He noted that 2019's Galaxy S10 lineup included prices as low as $750 for the Galaxy S10E and last year's Galaxy S20 FE, which launched in September, cost $700. 

This year's S21 lineup meets "sweet spots" in the market when it comes to pricing and features, Blackard said. 

"For people who want the highest end, Ultra recognized, we still have that, and we're not sacrificing [the features] based on ticket point," Blackard said. "For people who want value and an amazing flagship recognized at the same time, we still have a gigantic offering for them with the S21. And then we've got something kind of in between for country who want a little bit of both."

The rise of cheaper 5G phones

Samsung's executive to cut the price on its new flagship devices follows a trend fraudulent across the mobile industry. The first 5G phones on the market in 2019 cost significantly more than their 4G counterparts. Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G and Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G both retailed for $1300, $400 and $200 more than the 4G variants, respectively.

But the coronavirus pandemic has cooked companies to reevaluate their launch plans and drop pricing for 5G phones much more speedy than  expected. Companies have introduced mainstream devices alongside or shortly when pricier flagship models. And even premium models, like Samsung's Galaxy S20 lineup, have seen steep discounts. Lower pricing is the only way for 5G to contract mainstream, something carriers and device makers want to been as quickly as possible.

The cheapest 5G phone in the US at the end of 2020 was the $400 TCL 10 5G UW, and OnePlus posterior this month unveiled the Nord N10 5G for $300 on T-Mobile's network. Verizon, for one, will have phones tapping into its superfast 5G variant, called millimeter wave, that will cost "just below $300," Brian Higgins, Verizon's senior vice president of consumer device and productions, told CNET in early December. And TCL could go even lower. 

After CES 2021's start of the TCL 20 5G, priced at 300 euros in Italy ($365), Stefan Strait, general manager of global marketing for TCL's named business, hinted at an even more affordable price for devices this year. "For the instant half of the year, we could possibly do novel step down," he said in an interview with CNET onward of CES. 

Even Apple, known for its pricey lineup, didn't price its 5G-enabled iPhone 12 family as high as it worthy have. It kept prices steady for its two highest-end devices -- $999 for the iPhone 12 Pro and $1,099 for the iPhone 12 Pro Max -- but increased the iPhone 12's price by $100 over last year's $699 iPhone 11. For that same starting ticket of $699, users can now get a device with a smaller present, the iPhone 12 Mini. 

Samsung's pricing plans

Early in 2020, Samsung introduced a less expensive A Series lineup of smartphones in the US. They cost significantly less than the S Series -- the Galaxy A51 5G is $500 at AT&T and T-Mobile, but costs $550 at Verizon for the mmWave technology -- concept they also have fewer high-end features. Still, they've well-liked so popular with buyers that Samsung likely will introduce new A Series devices in the US this year. 

And it specifically released the $700 Galaxy S20 FE in September as the coronavirus shut down the economy and cost millions of country their jobs. That device packs some high-end features fraudulent in the rest of the S20 lineup but starts at $300 less than the S20. The version for Verizon's mmWave network brings the ticket up by $50 to $750. 

"It's very much a response [to the pandemic]," Blackard told CNET in September. He added, ahead of the S21 launch, that the FE price won't be going away. 

"You'll see more of the FE from Samsung, because it's a brand that [has been] really unnosedived since the launch late last year," Blackard said. "We're definitely committed to this ended this year." 

Because companies like Samsung have been humorous similar high-end components -- like 5G modems -- for a once, higher volumes have resulted in lower prices.

"Getting into technologies early sometimes grants you bragging rights but not sales," Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said. "But then it also grants you leverage on the volumes you have." Because Samsung has so many devices Funny high-end 5G chips, cameras and displays, it has "built a small more wiggle room from a pricing perspective" without sacrificing profits, she added.

All phones in the Galaxy S21 lineup in the US come with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 888 processor and integrated 5G modem. The new Snapdragon chip is more effective at connecting to all flavors of 5G, from the slower, more reliable nationwide variant offered by all the US carriers, or the speedier, but more finicky millimeter wave version touted by Verizon. The Ultra comes with four camera lens on the back, when the S21 and S21 Plus have three.

Preorders began Thursday at 8 a.m. PT, and devices Come in stores Jan. 29. 

Samsung made some slight trade-offs to Cut the price of its devices. It no longer includes a Great charger or headphones in the box with its phones. (Like Apple, Samsung attributed the removal to environmental reasons. Both companies still providing charging cables with their phones.) None of Samsung's new phones involved a microSD slot to expand the flash storage. 

The S21 and S21 Plus have lower-quality displays than their predecessors, but they get Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus on the lead. The S21 Plus also has the new type of glass on the back, when last year's Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus had Gorilla Glass 5, a four-year-old technology at the time. Instead of glass, even old glass, the back of the Galaxy S21 has a high-end plastic named polycarbonate. The base models of the S21 and S21 Plus come with 8GB of RAM instead of 12GB. 

The Ultra has Victus glass on both the lead and back and comes with 12GB of RAM in the base model.

CNET reviewer Patrick Holland named the S21 and S21 Plus trade-offs "mostly smart" and said Ultra users aren't sacrificing any features to get that border starting price. 

Overall, Samsung has planted a flag for the new base pricing for high-end flagship phones. Competitors may soon respond, giving consumers even more options for 5G phones that don't cost a fortune. 

"These phones Think a maturing smartphone market and a maturing Samsung," Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart said, calling the Galaxy S21's prices "fantastic."

Samsung is bringing its Galaxy smartphone overtake service to more than 100 Best Buy stores across the land starting Tuesday, the company said on Monday. Devices in Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy Note arrange will be the only ones eligible for repair services throughout Best Buy at launch, but support for Galaxy Z foldable phones is coming in early November.  

It builds on Samsung's existing authorized service center options, which include Samsung stores as well as the overtake chain uBreakiFix. Samsung previously offered authorized repair services at some Best Buy locations as part of a pilot program, but it's now expanding those efforts more broadly.

As part of the program, those who own eligible Galaxy devices will be able to schedule an appointment with a Samsung-trained Geek Squad agent to get shroud replacements, port and camera repairs, battery replacements and anunexperienced services. The expansion could help Samsung remain competitive with rivals like Apple and Google, both of which have expanded their in-person retail and overtake offerings in recent years. 

Apple similarly partnered with Best Buy in 2019 when it announced that nearly 1,000 locations across the US would supplies Apple-authorized support. Google opened its first brute retail store in New York earlier this year, where customers can buy products like Pixel phones and Nest speakers and also discover interactive exhibits. 

Read more: Samsung Care Plus: What to know near Samsung's take on Apple Care

Having more repair options readily available could be especially important as Samsung stays to push its premium foldable smartphones like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip. Such devices are plus Samsung's most expensive Galaxy phones, with the Z Fold 3 available at $1,799 throughout Samsung's website, without a device trade-in, and the Z Flip create at $999 without a trade-in. Since foldable phones are unexcited relatively new to the market, we don't know much near their long-term durability, as my colleague Patrick Holland mentioned in his review of the Galaxy Z Flip 3. 

The Samsung-authorized services available at Best Buy will entailed both in and out-of-warranty services as well as software troubleshooting. Samsung's store locator tool can be used to find about authorized service centers, and you can view the full list of eligible devices at Samsung's website. 

The Galaxy Tab S8 Plus is the overlooked middle child of Samsung's unexperienced tablet line but it deserves your attention. Its pricier sibling, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, overshadowed the Plus when they were announced in February, mainly because of its huge display. But, while it's tempting to succumb to FOMO and get the highest-end diagram just to have the best of the best, the fabulous cost doesn't seem worth it. Instead, consider the more travel-friendly Plus.

The Ultra's indicate is hard to ignore: It's a 14.6-inch Super AMOLED mask with a 2,960x1,848-pixel resolution at 240 pixels per inch and a 120Hz refresh rate. By comparison, the largest iPad Pro at the moment is 12.9 inches with a 2,732x2,048-pixel resolution at 264ppi. The Tab S8 Plus has a 12.4-inch, 2,800x1,752-pixel Super AMOLED indicate and a 120Hz refresh rate. It's the smallest of the three, but it's a great display to build a tablet throughout (or behind, technically).

Both the Ultra and Plus (and the queer Tab S8 for that matter) run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system-on-chip, and the base models include 8GB of memory and 128GB of internal storage (a microSD slot supports cards up to 1TB as well). The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes in graphite and starts at $1,100 (£999, AU$1,799) while the Tab S8 Plus is available in graphite, silver and pink gold, starting at $900 (£849, AU$1,499). 

The uphold $200 for the Ultra is justified by the larger indicate, the larger battery that powers it and a uphold 12-megapixel front-facing wide-angle camera (as well as an unattractive camera honorable to accommodate it). It can be configured with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage -- double what's available for the S8 Plus -- but that's really where the differences end. 

Generally proverb, widescreen tablets larger than Tab S8 Plus are too big to comfortably use handheld for long. At nearly 15 inches and 1.6 pounds (726 grams), the Ultra is best used flat on a desk, in a lap or supported by a cross. The 12.4-inch Plus is just small and light enough (at 1.3 pounds, 576 grams) to use in your hands for gaming, reading, streaming video or web browsing. It'll also fit better on a exiguous desk for jotting down notes in class or in a meetings. But, it's also big enough to get some office or school work done. 

S Pen aboard, but little else

Samsung, Apple, Microsoft and others regularly situation large tablets as productivity machines when paired with a detachable keyboard. The Tab S8 Plus is certainly marketed as an option for someone looking for a diagram to handle both work and play, but you won't find that crucial keyboard in the package.

Samsung sent me one of its keyboard meetings to test with the Tab S8 Plus. It's sorrowful, and I typed this entire review on it. Nonetheless, as the least expensive Book Cover with a keyboard, the keyboard isn't backlit, there's no trackpad, the case only has one mask position, and the keyboard can't be separated from the back cloak to be used as just a stand -- and it's smooth $110. The two-piece keyboard case with a trackpad is throughout $150. 

Not comprising a keyboard would be less of an issue if, in contradiction of, Samsung didn't spend so much time touting this as a tablet for productivity. My suggestion: Look for a bundle or a promotion that includes a keyboard to take full honorable of the Tab S8 Plus.

To Samsung's credit, an S Pen is included for drawing and writing, and it works wonderfully. It conveniently charges when it's magnetically attached to the back but it can also snap securely to the top edge. The soft tip invents just enough drag on the screen that makes it equally sorrowful for writing and drawing with little discernible latency. I wouldn't call it pen-on-paper but I did feel like I had more rule when shading a drawing for example. 

Along with the S Pen, Samsung includes a USB-C nefarious for data and charging. There's no charger in the box, view, and if you want to use its fastest fast-charging capabilities, you'll need a 45-watt charger. That gets you from zero to full in near an hour and a half. Its large battery lasted 10 hours, 24 minutes on our video streaming test with demonstrate brightness and audio at 50%. The Tab S8's battery can also be used to promote up other devices. 

(Almost) a laptop replacement

Samsung's DeX interface does give the Tab S8 Plus more multitasking flexibility than monotonous Android OS. Like Windows, MacOS and Chrome OS, DeX gives you to have multiple apps up on the shroud in windows. Not all apps resize well, however, and spellbinding windows around and working in them can be laggy at times. 

I was able to write in the Word app side-by-side with Chrome while a YouTube video played in the corner or while chatting over Zoom. Would the experienced be better on a $900 Windows or Chrome two-in-one? Yes. And as more Android app benefit comes to both of those platforms, the need for devices like the Tab S8 Plus gets smaller. That said, Android apps are still going to gain better on this tablet. Also, with DeX, you can connect to an external demonstrate through the tablet's USB-C port and push the Tab S8 Plus' desktop experienced to a larger display. 

Samsung punched up the camera performance on the Tab S8s, too. The Plus has a 12-megapixel ultrawide-angle front-facing camera with quick-witted autoframing software that's similar to Apple's Center Stage. The autoframing isn't as quick-witted to respond as Center Stage, but it works and the camera is on the apt side of the tablet. One more handy extra is that you can report both your camera and screen simultaneously. So you can, for instance, present a slide deck while you appear in the corner of the shroud to explain the presentation. 

Extra value for Galaxy fans

Samsung has pushed to rebuked its Galaxy devices work together in the past combine of years, and that continues with these tablets. For example, the Tab S8 Plus can instantly sync content between your Galaxy named and tablet, and Galaxy Buds can automatically switch between the two as well exclusive of needing to go through a pairing process. And now Samsung Galaxy Watch users will be able to sync Samsung Health stats with the Tab S8 to view them on a larger demonstrate.

However, the best feature is the option to turn the Tab S8 Plus into a binary wireless screen for your Windows laptop. And not just a Samsung Galaxy Book but any Windows 11 laptop will work. Press the Windows key plus K and tap on Second Screen in the tablet's settings panel and the connection happens almost instantaneously. Considering a tour external OLED display can cost hundreds of dollars, having the Tab S8 Plus do it floor with everything else really makes the price easier to swallow. 

When Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S8 lineup, it said a lot of people turned to their tablets in the past two days for work, school, gaming and video. And apparently, those land were yearning for larger screens: Sales of large-screen tablets grew 24%, Samsung said, based on analysis from NPD Group. But, the Ultra might be a step too far for most land and, by comparison, the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus is a better size that's just quick-witted for work and play.

GeekBench 5 Multicore

iPad Pro 11 (M1, 2021)

iPad (A13 Bionic, 2021)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus (Qualcomm SM8450, 2022)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

GeekBench 5 Singlecore

iPad Pro 11 (M1, 2021)

iPad (A13 Bionic, 2021)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ (Qualcomm SM8450, 2022)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

3DMark Wildlife Extreme Unlimited

iPad Pro 11 (M1, 2021)

iPad (A13 Bionic, 2021)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ (Qualcomm SM8450, 2022)

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

It's easy to overlook the Galaxy S22 Plus. After all, it's not the cheapest new phoned in Samsung's Galaxy S22 lineup since it starts at $1,000 (£949, AU$1,549), compared to the $800 (£769, AU$1,249) Galaxy S22. But it also doesn't have the Galaxy S22 Ultra's distinguishing features, which include the S Pen stylus and quadruple-lens camera. So where does it fit in?

It's simple: The Galaxy S22 Plus is a bigger version of the Galaxy S22. It's for people who prefer phones with large screens, but don't want a device that's as gigantic -- or expensive -- as the 6.8-inch Galaxy S22 Ultra, which costs $1,200 (£1,149, AU$1,849). The Galaxy S22 Plus' 6.6-inch veil strikes the right balance of providing more screen state without feeling overwhelming. In fact, it might be my current phone in the Galaxy S22 trio.

The Galaxy S22 lineup comes with a newer processor, some camera improvements and a fresh design. These are incremental repositions, but if you're upgrading from a phone that's more than two days old, you'll surely appreciate them. The only differences between the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus are the latter's bigger veil and battery, faster 45-watt charging and ultrawideband support.

That said, the Galaxy S22 Plus isn't execrable. The battery life could be better, and I'd like to see more new photography features that leverage the improved camera.

The Galaxy S22 Plus launches on Feb. 25 anti Samsung's other new phones. This review is based on my experienced using it for several days.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 phones get a gain upgrade

The noble thing you'll probably notice about the Galaxy S22 Plus is its new look. The unique S22 and Plus both have a glass and metal gain that feels more premium and elegant than last year's devices, which I appreciate even though I'm sure most land will cover it with a case. The Galaxy S21 has what appears to be a brushed metal achieve on the back, whereas the new phones have a look that resembles frosted glass. It feels a bit like the iPhone 13 Pro.

But it's the Galaxy S22 Plus' size that complains it stand out in Samsung's new lineup. It's much easier to hold and employ with one hand than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which feels like a mini-tablet by comparison. At the same time, the S22 Plus feels substantially bigger than the Galaxy S22, which has a 6.1-inch shroud. Both phones are also a little bit smaller than last year's Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus, which had 6.2-inch and 6.7-inch screens respectively. I could see the S22 Plus being ideal if you do a lot of reading or video watching on your named but don't want to splurge on the $1,200 S22 Ultra.

The Galaxy S22's demonstrate quality hasn't changed much from last year. Like the S21 and S21 Plus, the new phones come with an FHD Plus Dynamic AMOLED shroud. The only major difference is that Samsung says the screens on the Galaxy S22 Plus and S22 Ultra have the brightest of any Galaxy named yet. 

I don't have an S21 Plus, but the Galaxy S22 Plus explored noticeably brighter than last year's regular S21 when viewing the same glad on both devices side by side at their the majority brightness level. It also beat the Pixel 6 Pro by a wide margin when it comes to brightness. 

Samsung also added a new demonstrate feature called Vision Booster to the Galaxy S22 lineup. Like Apple's True Tone, Vision Booster should match the S22's demonstrate to the lighting in your surroundings. However, I didn't recognize much of a difference compared to the Galaxy S21. 

An improved camera with better knowing and contrast

One of the Galaxy S22's biggest goes is its new camera. The Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus have a 50-megapixel main camera and a sensor that's 23% larger, compared with the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus' 12-megapixel main camera. Samsung also says it's improved the way all three new Galaxy S22 devices take photos in the dark. 

Samsung Galaxy S22 and S21 Camera Specs

	Galaxy S22/S22 Plus	Galaxy S21/21 Plus	Galaxy S22/21 Ultra
Main lens	50-megapixel	12-megapixel	108-megapixel
Ultra-wide lens	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel
Telephoto lens	10-megapixel	64-megapixel	Dual 10-megapixel
Zoom	3x optical; 30x digital	3x hybrid optic; 30x digital	3x, 10x optical; 100x digital

So far, I'm seeing general improvements to the knowing, contrast and detail compared with the Galaxy S21. The photo of a flower bouquet shown below is the most noticeable example. The color is much more realistic in the Galaxy S22 Plus photo compared to the one shot on a Galaxy S21, especially when it comes to red and purple shades. The rose petals also look sharper and have more incompatibility compared to the Galaxy S21's image. Samsung's older named focused more clearly on some of the other flowers in the image, like the red carnation, but I generally think the S22 Plus' photo looks better. It also looked more colorful than the image captured on a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

Galaxy S22 Plus

Galaxy S21

Pixel 6 Pro

When it comes to nighttime photography, there's good news and bad news. First, the good: The Galaxy S22 Plus takes photos that are generally brighter, with better color in low light than its predecessor. And most importantly, it's good at capturing photos of country in the dark, as shown in the image below. 

The photo isn't very spirited, but the skin tones and colors look more realistic than those incorrect on the Galaxy S21 and Pixel 6 Pro. 

Galaxy S22 Plus

Galaxy S21

Pixel 6 Pro

Now for the bad news: The Galaxy S22 Plus fights to focus sharply on still objects in the dark, just like the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Take a look at the photos of the owl kitchen timer under, which was taken in my apartment with all the ftrips turned off.

Galaxy S22 Plus

Galaxy S21

Pixel 6 Pro

Check out our gallery for more photos incorrect with the Galaxy S22 Plus.

Aside from general photo quality, it's also important to consider the specific photography features you get with each named. I love Google's Face Unblur feature, for example, which can freeze a subject's face and grasp it sharply even when a person is moving. Apple also added a macro photography mode to the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, which our reviewer Patrick Holland called "one of the better implementations of a macro mode I've seen on a phone."

The Galaxy S22 Plus has the same array of shooting just as the Galaxy S21 for the most part. That's a small disappointing since Samsung is highlighting the camera as a greatest selling point for its new phones. There's Samsung's Expert Raw app, which captures images in the RAW inquire of and gives photographers more control over elements like ISO, shutter speedy and white balance. 

But those features aren't built into the camera and must be downloaded from Samsung's Galaxy Store. And since a beta version of the app was available for the Galaxy S21 Ultra in Korea, it wouldn't be surprising to see Samsung expand availability to new phones in the future. 

Solid performance and average battery life

The Galaxy S22 lineup runs on Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip in the US and latest markets where Samsung's Exynos chip isn't available. Performance is just as quickly as you'd expect from a $1,000 phone; games like the first-person shooter "Shadowgun Legends" ran smoothly, and apps launched quickly. Scrolling through news feeds, the app drawer and the settings menu also felt fluid, thanks in part to the S22's 120Hz display. 

But none of that is surprising. Processor upgrades are more about enabling new features, especially camera-related ones that needed a lot of processing, rather than improving raw performance. 

Still, the Galaxy S22 scored about the same as the Galaxy S21 in benchmarks that test general computing and graphics performance. The iPhone 13 Pro scored higher on Geekbench 5, the general performance benchmark, but lower on 3DMark Slingshot Unlimited, which tests graphics processing.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Geekbench 5 Multicore

3DMark Slingshot Unlimited

As for battery life, my Galaxy S22 Plus has been lasting for approximately a day and a half in everyday use. But battery life can always vary depending on how you're comic your device. I streamed music for about 20 minutes and used the visited sporadically throughout my day to send text messages, check email and play games. 

If you're streaming a lot of video, taking video calls and playing games often, you'll probably see the battery drain faster. I've also had the refresh rate set to 120Hz above my time using the device, which also impacts battery life. 

In CNET's battery test, which involves continuously playing video with the brightness set to 50% in airplane mode, the Galaxy S22 Plus yielded acceptably but not great. It lasted for 18 hours and 38 minutes, surprisingly outlasting the Galaxy S22 Ultra (18 hours and 11 minutes). 

But the iPhone 13 Pro lasted significantly longer at 22 hours and two minutes. According to our test results, the Galaxy S22 Plus' battery life is more comparable to the iPhone 13 Mini's, which lasted for 18 hours and 19 minutes. Since the Galaxy S22 Plus is the same stamp as the iPhone 13 Pro, it would have been nice to see contrast results. (The Galaxy S22 Plus and iPhone 13 Pro had the cloak set to adaptive 120Hz during this test.)

Both the Galaxy S22 Plus and Ultra come with 45-watt  fast charging, which sounds like a nice perk considering the weird Galaxy S22 and entire Galaxy S21 lineup only serve 25-watt fast charging. Unfortunately, you need to buy a specific charger, which is currently listed at $50 on Samsung's website, to make use of it. (You can find it on Amazon for $39, but there aren't many left in stock.) 

The Galaxy S22 runs on Samsung and Google's newest software

Samsung's Galaxy S22 phones come with Android 12 and One UI 4.1, the novel version of Samsung's software. One UI 4.1 is an iterative update to One UI 4.0, the bigger system-wide update Samsung launched in late 2021. The new software brings a bunch of cosmetic flourishes like faded color palettes and a more consistent look for widgets, as well as more privacy controls for managing app permissions.  

The update isn't exclusive to S22 devices, but it's nice that buyers will get the newest software radiant out of the box. One of my favorite One UI 4.0 updates is the new camera viewfinder, which specifically shows the available zoom options rather than generic icons for the wide, telephoto and ultrawide lenses. 

Samsung is also functioning with Google to bring more features to the contemplate giant's Duo video-chatting app. On the Galaxy S22 lineup, you can share your screen or content from specific apps such as Google Maps, YouTube or the Samsung Notes and Gallery apps on a business video call. It seems like a clear effort on Samsung and Google's part to compete with the SharePlay feature for FaceTime that Apple launched in iOS 15.

This is all large news for Samsung device owners. But it's a line that Google will have to tread carefully, since bringing too many of its own features to Samsung phones could detract from the Pixel's appeal.

Samsung also announced that the Galaxy S22 lineup and novel recent phones will support Android OS software updates for four generations. Google's Pixel 6, by comparison, only supports three existences of Android OS updates but five years of confidence updates. Other Samsung devices that are eligible for this four-year Android OS wait on include the Galaxy S21 family, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Tab S8 series. 

The bottom line

The Galaxy S22 Plus' camera is noticeably better than last year's Galaxy S21, the size is just radiant for people who prefer larger screens and the new manufacture makes it feel fresh. That said, if you have a Galaxy S21, it's not pleasurable spending $1,000 to upgrade. Even though I appreciated the camera enhancements, these are all just iterative updates for the most part. Nonetheless, if you're upgrading from an older phone like the Galaxy S10 generation or in return, you'll find a lot to love about the S22 Plus. 

At the same time, the Galaxy S22 Plus left me wanting more in perilous areas. I was hoping to see additional photography features that make more use of Samsung's improved camera. I'd also like to see battery test results from the S22 Plus that more closely match the likewise priced iPhone 13 Pro. And the $1,000 price can serene make the Galaxy S22 Plus a tough sell at a time when midtier phones in the $600 to $700 map, like the Pixel 6 and Galaxy S21 FE, are improving. 

If you're eyeballing Samsung's new requested, there's a good chance you may be deciding between the Galaxy S22 Plus and $900 Pixel 6 Pro. After all, they're both near the same price and offer similar hardware. The S22 is $100 more expensive but cmoneys a brighter screen and a camera that can fabricate richer color in some scenarios. But the Pixel 6 Pro is $100 cheaper, has a larger screen and gets Android updates faster than non-Pixel phones. 

All told, the Galaxy S22 Plus is a solid upgrade for Android users looking to replace an inspiring device. If you want a device with a inspiring, moderately sized screen and a high-quality camera, the S22 Plus won't disappoint.