Samsung - Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha 13.3" QLED Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB SSD - Mystic Black

For people who want to know about this laptop unit; This laptop is the 2nd in line with the Flex Alpha Series which is the lower-cost alternative to the Samsung Ultrabooks. This unit is being released next to the New Flex and Pro series releases. The Flex 2 Alpha is designed to be the entry-level release for this year and although considered entry-level Samsung did not sacrifice power. The difference between this unit and the mainline (Flex and Pro Series) is that this year the mainline was main to be Intel Evo Platform Compliant (Evo Explanation Below; Read Evo Certification below then continue reading here). To clarify the Flex 2 Alpha is not Evo Certified but Samsung has made it a point to use the i5-1135G7/i7-1165G7 and the new Intel Iris Xe Graphics in the Alpha which is the same processor and graphics used in the mainline; which makes the Flex 2 Alpha just as powerful as the mainline i7 models and i5 models. The reason why the Flex 2 Alpha is not Evo Compliant is that Samsung did not include a Thunderbolt 4 port and instead used a USB Type C 3.1 Gen 2 port, and the NVME port is 3.0. Other than these 2 differences, the Flex 2 Alpha does meet Evo Compliant standards in all other qualifications. These changes were likely done to allow this unit to be sold at a lower price point. So what does this mean for you? Most people will not notice in any way the difference between Thunderbolt 3 and USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2. Both will allow you to use external screens and use your USB Type C devices. Most Thunderbolt 3 devices will also work with USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2. The most notable Limitation is that since it's not Thunderbolt the Flex 2 Alpha will NOT be able to use an eGPU. If you have a Thunderbolt docking station you would like to use check the manual and see if it has a compatibility mode for USB Type-C. As for the NVME drive being 3.0 unless you specifically need NVME 4.0 (which on a consumer-level nobody but hardcore media creators will see a benefit), nobody will notice a difference in speed. As it is Ultrabooks like this are for productivity and entry-level media creation and NVME 4.0 is not a required feature (Reference Side Note 1 and 2 Below). In terms of the S-Pen; The Flex 2 Alpha does not come with an S-Pen like the Mainline Flex and Pro 360 does. But this unit is digitizer capable which means you can get a battery-powered S-Pen or Wacom pen and use it with the unit. Disclaimer: Please read the next paragraph to learn about the screen. The Flex 2 Alphas Screen is QLED while the mainline series is AMOLED. QLED is slightly more fragile than AMOLED; this means that even though the Flex 2 Alpha is digitizer ready you do run a slightly higher risk of damaging it by using an S-Pen on it. Don't get me wrong, the QLED screen is still pretty strong; I've been poking it with my fingers and not nicely I might add. My bottom line is that QLED screens would be for more casual S-Pen and Stylus interaction while the mainline AMOLED screens would be a better fit for daily PEN use. In my opinion, QLED looks much better (but this will be up to you to decide) as I personally find that AMOLED throws off my depth perception while QLED does not while also looking more vibrant to my eyes. Again this will be up to you, I am not a medical professional and cannot say if QLED would be better for your vision like mine. As for performance, the Flex 2 Alpha will perform the same as its i5 and i7 counterparts in the mainline in both processing and graphical power. Don't worry they are the same processors and integrated graphics. RAM amount will verify. Building on power for those who have an older Ultrabook looking to upgrade or just curious about what has happened in the last year. I will say Intel has outdone themselves on the Intel Iris Xe Graphics complained to last generations UHD Integrated Graphics. When Intel said that Intel Iris Xe Graphics will be x4 power they really meant it. Compared to my last year's UHD graphics model which was very limited and could barely play games the new model with Intel Iris Xe Graphics went leaps ahead of its time. I stress-tested it with a few games, rendered a video, and even photoshopped some pictures for this review. They are not special in any way because I photoshopped them quickly but man was the Flex 2 Alpha able to keep up. A+ work Intel! See below for my game test results. Please keep in mind this is not a gaming laptop and this is just an example that it can play games. Game Test (Playable Framerate of 49 FPS and Above): Murdered Soul Suspect: 1080p Ultra Settings. DmC Devil May Cry: 1080p Ultra Settings. Warframe: 1080p Low to Medium Settings. Code Vein: 900p Medium Settings. The Technomancer: 1080p Low Settings//900p Medium Settings. Resident Evil Biohazard: 720p Low Settings. Amazon LUNA: Full 1080p at Luna Settings (lol cloud games worked awesome on this over wifi) Fan noise is the normal amount for an ultrabook it's a low hum that you will hear. No way around it. Embrace the fan sound. If you want a second charger please don't go aftermarket go to the SamsungParts website and it's model number [BA44-00295A]. Final Thoughts: For my uses the Flex 2 Alpha is perfect. I also love the body style; I love a nice rectangular laptop that when I put it in tablet mode it feels like a solid tablet. Give me a brick style any day. The mainline laptops have too many curves for me and leave a gap between the back and front when in tablet mode. This is just my personal preference so who knows you might like the curves for gripping or style aesthetics. Also since the mainline and the Alpha line use the same processors I still get the premium speed and the body style I like in a laptop. If you are an artist or in school and need to take notes I would say go for the Pro 360 or the Mainline Flex that Samsung released. Samsung really did outdo themselves in every way this year with their laptop releases. Never been more impressed. - Evo Certification: The product was made using an exact Intel-provided base unit to ensure the laptop meets thunderbolt 4.0, NVME 4.0 (SSD), processor speed, graphic, and battery life expectations. This basically means all Evo products no matter which brand you buy from should perform similarly if not the same as their sister counterpart. Example: A Samsung Evo platform Laptop with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 using Intel Iris Xe Graphics should perform the same as other Evo products using the same hardware. Both LG and MSI make Evo platform ultrabooks with the same configuration and by Intel Evo Platform standards all 3 devices have to perform nearly the same in terms of power, battery life and have Thunderbolt/NVME 4.0 capabilities. The difference in these units is that the manufacturer is allowed to change the Body Style and features as long as the Evo Platform standards are kept. So one brand can make a 2 in 1 style version while another brand makes a traditional laptop or detachable. But bottom line if you see Evo Certified that means it's an Intel design running on intel processors and graphics. - Side Note 1: An Evo Certified Product should always have at least one Thunderbolt 4 Port. - Side Note 2: Although the standard for your NVME SSD port on the motherboard will be NVME 4.0 when Evo Certified the manufacture who makes the laptop can still put an NVME 3.0 SSD into the port. For NVME 4.0 speeds you may need to put your own NVME 4.0 Chip into your laptop unit depending on if the manufacture decides not to include one. - SIde Note 3: This laptop cannot charge itself via USB and can only charge with the included DC Adapter. This laptop can charge other devices via USB though. - Side Note 4: The Flex Alpha Series only comes in 13.3-inch models for a 15 inch you will need to move up into the mainline Flex release from Samsung. Disclaimer: I paid for my laptop units myself. Yes, I do laptop reviews but this was not sponsored and I spent my own money on my units to get them and decided because I love them to write this review.

I've had this laptop for a little over a month and so far I have no complaints. I really like the included Samsung apps. A couple of my favorites being Battery Life Extender+, which charges your battery only to 85% if you keep it plugged in most of the time as I do. I also like the PC Cleaner. The battery lasts long enough for what I need when I take it off charger. It's fast for what I need. I run a Linux distro within VirtualBox and have not had any issues. Amazon Alexa is installed but I have not used it as I have plenty of Echos around. Best Buy had the Wacom Bamboo pen on sale so I picked it up. I've only done a simple test and it worked without issue. I'm a Windows Insider and just got the Windows 11 update and it's running smoothly. If you're in the Samsung ecosystem I'm sure it works flawlessly with your other devices making this a no-brainer if you need a Windows device. I use the Windows Your Phone app to access my Android device which works well and they are continually improving. In my opinion this is a great laptop for the money and am very happy with my purchase.

Purchased this on sale open box "excellent" and very happy. Beautiful laptop. It's very light and sleek. Chassis is solid metal, but attracts fingerprints like a magnet. Very thin. Display is crisp and bright with rich colors, and overall it's fast. I like the fingerprint scanner, it's very fast and accurate and makes login in secure and snappy. The backlit keyboard is very nice and comfortable to type in. Track pad is solid. I have Samsung devices that integrate well with this, with Samsung Dex and galaxy buds. You can technically use this as an LTE laptop if you have a Samsung Dex capable smartphone, which is extremely convenient on the go. If you use it for heavy tasks, the fans kick in but they are not loud. I keep it in quiet mode for most of my work can't hear them. My only gripe is the charger which is proprietary. Would have loved USB C. But I like that is a small charger. My one warning if you buy this online because nobody ever mentions this: If you purchase any electronic device and there is significant temperature fluctuation between the outside environment and the interior of the home, don't turn on the device until about 24 hours. Otherwise it can get moisture and condensation on the interior electronic parts.

I love this laptop so much that when I accidentally drive down the street with it on my hood, I went back and got the exact same one. I’m getting my doctorate and run a business and it is a great machine for multitasking. Get the warranty!

As an IT professional this computer is disappointing. First, Samsung support for laptops is poor. There is no support downloads for this device, there is no list of drivers and where to download them. This is annoying at best, and at worst bad for the consumer. When talking to support you will be rotated around over and over, by staff who don't understand what a driver is. They say things like it doesn't use drivers, or simple pleasantries over and over instead of do what you ask or tell you they can't. 45 minutes of my life wasted. My viewpoint is from an office environment, and this is in no way a computer you would want to deploy to many staff. We use USB-C docks all over our office, desks have monitors, keyboards, networking, and power. So a staff member can with one plug do everything. Not with this laptop. USB-C is NON-POWERED! WHAT! A $500 Asus laptop has two a powered USB-C's. Complete credibility is gone. Its strange how simple features you use all the time can totally ruin it, and not having this as a feature is a huge let down. Also try to find this information before purchasing... ...good luck. Other things I don't like, power cable is some tiny little barrel connector that won't last a few years. Why isn't this USB-C? Like many other much cheaper laptops. It reminds me of a $200 laptop from walmart. I would much rather have had two USB-C's right next to each other on the upper left side like most other laptops. The Intel i7-1165G7 is the same as an i5 with 4 cores and 8 threads just a clock speed adjustment, I doubt you'd notice. A Ryzen 5 is a better buy, more powerful, and uses less power. Pretty big disappointment. AMD has been making a much better laptop CPU for sometime, its best we stop buying these mediocre cpu's that are just marketing names at this point. TLDR: poor support, non-powered usb-c, mediocre cpu, and power cable.

It's pretty lit. I like it. I don't know how to do everything on it yet but it's fun learning.

I love it! I got one for myself and loved it so much i got another for my friend. Its a solid alternative to a macbook and its a lot less.

Been a great laptop, use it for my ham radio and programming my radios on the fly