Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
The 16 - inch MacBook Pro is the king of the creator laptops , and it ’s been that way for several eld .
But there have been a undulation of fresh Windows laptop computer undertake to dispute the MacBook Pro on its own term . TheSamsung Galaxy Book4 Ultrais certainly a competitor , packing some telling specs in a portable chassis . When you equate the two directly up , the MacBook Pro 16 - in intelligibly comes away with the upper hand , even when believe its higher Mary Leontyne Price .
Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
Specs and pricing
The Galaxy Book4 Ultra and MacBook Pro 16 - column inch have a similar starting price , with just $ 100 separating them . What you get for that price , however , varies wildly . For example , the Galaxy Book4 Ultra gives you double as much storage for that cost , while the MacBook Pro come up with 2 GB more memory . The elbow room the CPU and GPU configurations scale up are hard to measure apple - to - apples , of course , but the MacBook Pro can be goes much higher . That ’s reliable in GPU performance , RAM , and store .
Samsung ’s form , on the other hand , are limited to just two . There ’s no room for customization , and no configurations that go above 32 GB of random-access memory or 1 TB of storage . The two configuration offer are both solid , but I certainly wish well there were some larger - capability computer memory and storage to match the RTX 4070 .
But in the last , the MacBook Pro is going to shore at least a few hundred dollar more — and potentially quite a bit more when you max out the constellation .
Design
Neither of these laptops are terribly garish , but the MacBook Pro is certainly the better - looking equipment . The black backdrop of the keyboard throw it stand out a bit , as do the new color alternative . Both the Space Black and Space Gray colorways are grotesque in my book . The Galaxy Book4 Ultra is a very generic gray , and there ’s petty here to differentiate from other laptops . I do like the rounded street corner of the screen , which is deal on the top corners of the MacBook Pro .
The one advantage the Galaxy Book4 Ultra ’s design has over the MacBook Pro , however , is the top bezel . It ’s evenhandedly fragile , and you do n’t having that vile snick gaze you in the aspect .
Beyond just esthetic , the MacBook Pro is the more rich - feeling laptop computer . The Galaxy Book4 Ultra is n’t made out of a machined blockage of aluminum , and therefore has some frail points in the soma . It ’s a well - built laptop , but it ’s not on the level of the MacBook Pro .
The two laptops are similar in size , with the deviation minor enough to be hardly worth observe . They ’re both relatively thin for this category of laptop , but let ’s not kid around : They ’re great laptop that you might have trouble match on a desk or in a knapsack .
Ports
luckily , both of these laptops have embraced a big raiment of ports , which is the trend on New content existence laptops . There are some slight differences , though . The Galaxy Book4 Ultra has just two Thunderbolt 4 ports ( one of which needs to be used for charging ) but also include a USB - A port . On the other hand , the MacBook Pro trades USB - A for an additional Thunderbolt connection . The MacBook Pro also has MagSafe 3 for charging , which frees up yet another one of your USB - coke ports .
The bigger deal to me , however , is that the Galaxy Book4 Ultra opts for a microSD card slot instead of a full - sizing one . For this laptop computer ’s target area audience , requiring a dongle to get Indian file direct from your tv camera is passably galling . The MacBook Pro has a nearly perfect array of ports in my intellect , so long as you do n’t need the USB - A for elder accessory or computer peripheral .
Display
The Galaxy Book4 Ultra and the MacBook Pro both have fantastic , high - ending show , though they take unlike approaches to the engineering science . The Galaxy Book4 Ultra use an AMOLED control panel , while the MacBook Pro has a mini - LED screen with 576 local dimming zones . The distinctive vantage of each dialog box play out as you might predict . The Galaxy Book4 Ultra has far better demarcation and color saturation , while the MacBook Pro is over double as bright in SDR . That mean both display are good in different ways — it just depends on what you desire .
Both have a 120Hz refresh charge per unit and great color truth , though , so you ’re getting a good working control panel for both content creation and using up . It should also be name that there ’s a deviation in pixel density . The MacBook Pro is 254 pixels per in , while the Galaxy Book4 Ultra is 212 . That ’s 17 % more pel in the same amount of space . While the MacBook Pro is penetrative , in this compare , I ca n’t say it ’s decease to make a huge conflict in your day - to - day .
last , it become without saying that the Galaxy Book4 Ultra has a touchscreen built in , while the MacBook Pro does not .
Performance
There are n’t many non - gaming laptop computer that include a GPU as powerful as an RTX 4070 . The Galaxy Book4 Ultra , alongside theDell XPS 16and a few others , are the few laptop computer that can sincerely challenge the M3 Max on its own term . regrettably , it still does n’t quite hold up to the unsanded GPU force of the M3 Max .
Beyond that , Samsung hampers the RTX 4070 in two way . First off , the laptop is only capable to tug 60 watt of mogul toward the GPU . That means in some pillowcase , an RTX 4060 laptop like theLenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16outperforms it in many scenarios . In addition , the laptop ’s default “ Optimized ” performance mode maintain the rooter rather blue , making it underachieve compared to the Dell XPS 16 . you may always set it to in high spirits Performance mode , of course , though many citizenry wo n’t screw that be — or might forget to turn it on .
irrespective , the M3 Max will outperform the Galaxy Book4 Ultra in almost every situation . The M3 Pro might be a more appropriate comparison to make , particularly since it ’s closer in toll , but we do n’t have examination data point available for it .
Not everyone need the full performance of the M3 Max , though .
Battery life
The Galaxy Book4 Ultra has passably serious battery life-time for a laptop of its type . It ’s a few hours onward of the contender , whether that ’s the XPS 16 or the Lenovo Yoga Pro . If you need to journey with this machine or spend substantial time away from an outlet , you might be surprised by how long it lasts . If you ’re just browse the entanglement , you’re able to get upward of 11 - and - a - half hours — that ’s a full 24-hour interval of work .
Of course , any type of heavy applications will abridge that by quite a number , but I was definitely impressed .
The MacBook Pro , however , is still on a completely higher level . It ’s a full eight hours out front of the Galaxy Book4 Ultra , showing just how efficient Apple ’s Si really is .
The MacBook Pro is still undefeated
I ’ll admit that I was cheer for the Galaxy Book4 Ultra in my time with it . I have a go at it the theme of a powerful Windows challenger to the MacBook Pro that has a GPU as tight as the RTX 4070 . Unfortunately , it did n’t live up to my expectation , peculiarly since there are some loud options out there that add together more economic value .
The MacBook Pro M3 Max still very much keep the crest for this class of laptop computer . You ’ll make up extra for it , but in this case , it ’s deserving every penny .
