Samsung Announces Galaxy Book 2, a 2-in-1 Windows 10 S Hybrid With Gigabit LTE and 20-Hour Battery Life (venturebeat.com) 78
At an event in New York City today, the Seoul, South Korea electronics giant took the wraps off of the Galaxy Book 2, a Windows ultraportable powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 850 chip. From a report: The only catch? It runs Windows 10 S, a slimmed-down version of Microsoft's operating system that can only run applications from the Windows Store -- specifically Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps and Win32 apps that Microsoft has explicitly approved (including, but not limited to, Microsoft Office). You can upgrade to Windows 10 for free, of course, but it's an emulated experience. But if that doesn't bother you, you'll be able to pick up a Book 2 at AT&T, Microsoft, and Samsung stores online for $999.99 starting November 2, 2018. It'll hit brick and mortar at AT&T, Sprint and Verizon later in the month.
The Book2 -- which measures 11.32 x 7.89 x 30 inches and weighs in at 1.75 pounds -- looks sort of like Microsoft's Surface. Its gorgeous 12-inch 2,160 by 1,440-pixel AMOLED display (216 pixels per inch) is fully compatible with Samsung's S Pen stylus, which comes bundled in the box (along with a detachable keyboard that attaches magnetically to the bottom bezel), allowing you to scribble notes and mark up documents easily. The screen's paired with stereo speakers tuned by Samsung subsidiary AKG Acoustic with support for Dolby Atmos, a premium audio format for multichannel surround sound setups, and there's two cameras onboard: a front-facing 5-megapixel camera on tap and an 8-megapixel camera on the rear. Under the hood is the aforementioned Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 system-on-chip paired with 4GB of RAM, comprising four high-performance processor cores running at 2.96 GHz and four power-efficient cores clocked at 1.7 GHz.
The Book2 -- which measures 11.32 x 7.89 x 30 inches and weighs in at 1.75 pounds -- looks sort of like Microsoft's Surface. Its gorgeous 12-inch 2,160 by 1,440-pixel AMOLED display (216 pixels per inch) is fully compatible with Samsung's S Pen stylus, which comes bundled in the box (along with a detachable keyboard that attaches magnetically to the bottom bezel), allowing you to scribble notes and mark up documents easily. The screen's paired with stereo speakers tuned by Samsung subsidiary AKG Acoustic with support for Dolby Atmos, a premium audio format for multichannel surround sound setups, and there's two cameras onboard: a front-facing 5-megapixel camera on tap and an 8-megapixel camera on the rear. Under the hood is the aforementioned Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 system-on-chip paired with 4GB of RAM, comprising four high-performance processor cores running at 2.96 GHz and four power-efficient cores clocked at 1.7 GHz.
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
11.32 x 7.89 x 30 inches (Score:1)
Gonna be kinda hard to fit on the tray table on the red eye.
And it only comes with Windows 10 S(hit) (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
I thought 10 S was end of lifed? More confused.
Re: (Score:2)
It was. it was replaced by "Windows 10 in S Mode".
Info: https://support.microsoft.com/... [microsoft.com]
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Why would anybody want that?
Consoles are easy (Score:2)
For the same reason anyone wants a game console [pineight.com]: it's harder for a user to screw up.
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It's not a game console. Weak.
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I didn't mean to imply that a Galaxy Book 2 or any other device that ships with Windows 10 in S Mode was literally a game console. I meant that people prefer S Mode or a Chromebook for those tasks that S Mode or a Chromebook can do for the same reason that some gamers prefer a game console for those tasks that a game console can do: less risk of failure due to administrator error or driver problems.
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But people don't prefer S Mode, it's one big fail.
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See, for example, the comments about a Chromebook being better for a non-technical grandma because she can't fyayk it up as an excuse to pester her grandson for tech support without charge.
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It's practically Windows RT all over again: the user's restricted to Windows Store apps, plus a number of other restrictions, plus a number of inherent limitations ( such as no 64-bit apps - they don't work).
Windows 10 in S mode is good for enterprise manageability because S Mode would make every box consistent and controllable. And UWP apps are good from a security standpoint because they are sandboxed and more tightly controlled than Win32 apps.
But on the other hand, Windows 10 in S Mode means giving up y
Re: (Score:2)
Windows 10 in S mode is good for enterprise manageability
"S" stands for "School". Is it back to school for enterprises now? Good luck with that.
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It's good for a rigid, and basic enterprise environment. However most medium and large enterprise have custom and/or legacy apps. This isn't going to work well in most enterprise.
It is almost exactly windows rt all over again and idk why they didn't learn the lesson the first time. Get an atom CPU, clean up the trash in Win10, and there's no reason you can't get workable performance.
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However most medium and large enterprise have custom and/or legacy apps
This. Very much this. S Mode takes a laptop and makes it more like an iPhone or iPad - a consistent platform for control and management, but missing compatibility for custom and legacy apps, and that's a huge thing for businesses.
Locked? I do not think you know the meaning... (Score:2)
You can upgrade to Windows 10 for free, of course,
You can get full Windows 10 FOR FREE. Locked to a stripped down version of the OS? Hardly.
Re: (Score:2)
From the rest of that sentence in TFS:
but it's an emulated experience.
"emulated experience" != full OS, k?
Re: Locked? I do not think you know the meaning... (Score:2)
Windows 10 for ARM is the full, proper, Windows.
The only emulation is when running legacy x86 programs because of a chicken and egg scenario where a software vendor hasn't yet checked a box in Visual Studio to compile for ARM64.
Provided all compilers even support ARM (Score:2)
The only emulation is when running legacy x86 programs because of a chicken and egg scenario where a software vendor hasn't yet checked a box in Visual Studio to compile for ARM64.
Or when a developer is using a compiler that doesn't even have that checkbox yet, such as the Delphi compiler used to build the BGB emulator.
(Before you ask: BGB's maintainer claims that it won't build in Lazarus because Lazarus doesn't include the GUI libraries on which BGB depends.)
Re: (Score:2)
...can only run applications from the Windows Store — specifically Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps and Win32 apps that Microsoft has explicitly approved
Well, that was a complete waste of time and development capital.
I can predict accurately how many of these things they're going to sell: 0
Re: (Score:3)
...can only run applications from the Windows Store — specifically Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps and Win32 apps that Microsoft has explicitly approved
Well, that was a complete waste of time and development capital.
I can predict accurately how many of these things they're going to sell: 0
They'll sell a few to people who don't understand what they're buying.
11.32 x 7.89 x 30 inches? (Score:3)
Re: 11.32 x 7.89 x 30 inches? (Score:1)
11.32 x 7.89
Sounds like an exotic Soviet caliber... NATO codename: "The Choad."
Re: (Score:2)
And all this time I thought it was spelled Chode...
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315081/characters/nm0740535?ref_=tt_cl_t1
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I don't see any part of this machine that looks 30 inches long. What, and how, were they measuring?
They missed a decimal point. It is 0.30" thick.
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Eh. They just measured a stack of a hundred of them. It happens to everybody.
Just get an actual surface at that price (Score:2)
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Can't see getting Microsoft's locked down, underpowered, feature limited product over a Chromebook. The latter actually having some traction. [arstechnica.com]
W10 is less locked down than Chrome OS (Score:2)
Can't see getting Microsoft's locked down, underpowered, feature limited product over a Chromebook.
And the article you linked describes the alternative as "locked down, highly secure Chrome OS machines".
A Windows 10 S device can be upgraded to Windows 10 without charge. This makes it arguably less "locked down [and] feature limited" than a Chromebook that can run only web applications. This will remain true until 75 percent of new Chromebooks ship with support for Crostini, the container to run X11/Linux applications.
Re: (Score:2)
the article you linked describes the alternative as "locked down, highly secure Chrome OS machines".
Exactly my point. Microsoft wants to go toe to toe with Chromebook. So Microsoft wants to sell a Chromebook without the Android ecosystem and without Google services. Obviously, the market doesn't want that.
Not enough power (Score:1)
Bonus, its runs an ARM chips so the software available for it is very limited.
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...can run any x86 apps.
The world has been x64 for the last decade.
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...can run any x86 apps.
The world has been x64 for the last decade.
That's why "can run any x86 apps" is important to understand before one buys one of these things.
64-bit needs a bigger data cache (Score:2)
Until all devices with 2 GB or less RAM are retired, 32-bit code still has advantages. First, a 32-bit OS doesn't need to keep both 32-bit and 64-bit system libraries loaded all the time, making applications less likely to spill their state from main memory to swap space. Second, even though x86-64 spills registers to data cache less often, the smaller pointers of 32-bit code are less likely to overflow the data cache and spill to slower main memory.[1] For this reason, developers of applications that do no
As Someone who bought the Surface 2 RT (Score:2)
As Someone who bought the Surface 2 RT, I'm kind of torn about whether or not Windows on ARM will ever pan out. One of the big reasons for going with Windows is that it supports so much software. This new thing will have much better support because of x86 emulation, and it looks like they aren't locking it down like they did with Windows RT, but it still won't be good as having a true x86 machine.
On the other hand, having used Windows RT, I have to say it has a lot of advantages over Android and iOS, and
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The question of will the Win 10 ARM pan out is going to be answered by ARM, can they deliver on the promise of a processor that can compete in the business model laptops and still retain the advantage in battery life.
It's a little early to be jumping on board for the ARM revolution but it may be here soon. Cheap ARM laptops with great battery life could be just a few years around the corner.
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it still won't be good as having a true x86 machine
What do you mean by "good"? It should be clear by now that the x86 as efficient as ARM always was a fairy tale. The reality is, running x86 means paying a power tax. If you want x86 then stick with form factors that accommodate a massive battery or plug into the wall.
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Won't be as good as far as compatibility with existing x86 software.
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Microsoft is dead in the water with ARM as long as they have to run x86 applications in emulation. Sucky performance, sucky battery life. What was the reason for having ARM again? And good luck convincing Windows software vendors to invest in native ARM builds for that miniscule market. Microsoft hoisted by its own network effect.
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And good luck convincing Windows software vendors to invest in native ARM builds for that miniscule market.
They're more likely in the case of free software designed for Windows. These include Firefox, LibreOffice, FCEUX (NES emulator with debugging), OpenMPT (sample sequencer), and j0CC-FamiTracker (chiptune sequencer).
"An emulated experience" (Score:2)
From the featured article: "You can upgrade to Windows 10 for free, of course, but it’s an emulated experience."
In fact, you need to upgrade to Windows 10 for an emulated experience. The Microsoft Store Policies [microsoft.com] ban emulators that play retro games: "10.13.10 Apps that emulate a game system are not allowed on any device family."
Why did they even bother with S mode? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Microsoft is still clutching at the fading hope that they can put a closed application ecosystem in place to tax all software sales like Apple does. Having failed miserably at selling straight up S devices, the new idea is, first make S mode merely available, and by a variety of underhanded techniques, gradually make it mandatory. Boil the frog slowly. Doesn't work if the frog jumps out of the pot or refuses to get in it in the first place.
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You missed the point of S mode on this device. Being ARM architecture the S mode limiting you to the windows store and UWP you're guaranteed to be given software that is either compiled for or architecturally compatible with the emulator for the poor choice of platform running an OS not designed for it.
With such a crippled device there's little point not running Windows S mode.
Desktop Bridge; PC vs. mobile rights (Score:2)
why would a software developer port their windows app to UWP but not android?
Desktop Bridge [microsoft.com] allows a developer to continue using Win32 API (or other libraries that wrap Win32) instead of UWP, so long as the application isn't in a category excluded by Microsoft Store Policies.
Or a developer may have licensed the PC rights in a particular work, invention, or mark, but not the mobile rights. For example, last I checked, EA ported the game Tetris to iOS, Android, and other mobile platforms, and another company handled the PC version.
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Probably because of how much slower x86 emulation runs. They still want to pressure developers to recompile their apps for ARM to run optimally.
Considering Microsoft ported Win32 to ARM to make arm recompiles relatively painless the most obvious reason to run x86 emulation is just for old unsupported software.
In practice even Adobe isn't recompiling Photoshop even though they have a running ARM build for ipad which requires far more code refactoring than Windows on ARM.
Don't know why (or maybe we all know), but... (Score:2)
Hopefully this fades away quickly (Score:1)
But does it (Score:1)
run Linux?
Re:But does it (Score:4, Informative)
run Linux?
If it ran mint/cinnamon, I'd buy one. Not with windows 10 s.
Windows 10 s (Score:2)
Automatic fail. I'm not looking forward to members of my extended family buying these things. They're going to want support, and I'm not going to want to touch them. But I'll have to, won't I?
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Then upgrade it to full blown Windows 10 for free.
https://support.microsoft.com/... [microsoft.com]
Only drawback is that you can't run x64 apps, and x86 apps run slower since it emulates x86, but devs can recompile for native arm64 and if all you're doing is web browsing and document processing, it should be more than adequate, with almost double the battery life vs an x86 processor.
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if all you're doing is web browsing and document processing
then there's no excuse to run Windows, whose entire raison d'etre is compatibility with old x86 binaries.
Sheet music library (Score:1)
My major (really my only) use for a tablet is for my sheet music. I used to have all kinds of books and paper in stacks and spent all kinds of time digging for something that I wanted to play (and half of the time not finding it). I tried making a database of the pieces and that helped only to the extent that I managed to keep my piles in order (and that never happened either).
A while back I got a Galaxy Tab S2 and it was truly life changing. I use the "Document Viewer" app from F-Droid for my music and
I like what's happening ... (Score:2)
... on the Hardware Front. Prices going down, fast, and battery time going up. Big time. Nice.
Got meself a Chromebook R13 for 400 Euros with a battery time of 9+hours. Very nice.
Now if the Linux kernel would catch up with power management and perhaps some FOSS GUI project would grasp touch in a feasible way, that would be even more awesome.
$999 for what? (Score:2)
A crippled Windows 10 machine?
DO NOT WANT.
What are they thinking?
mediocrity (Score:2)
$1000 for THAT?
Has Samsung gone completely insane?
All tests about those ARM-Books were crushingly horrible. Their compability is lacking, their speed slacking... do they really expect to get that piece of mediocrity at the price of a mid range gaming notebook?
Are they aware there are Lenovo solutions based on Goldmont which beat this weirdo at everything at a price of 300 Euro?
LOL