Still, you can get the Flex Alpha with tenth-generation Intel Core processors, which is reasonable for the price. Samsung. PCWorld helps you navigate the PC ecosystem to find the products you want and the advice you need to get the job done. Samsung's laptop has display density of 166 PPI & Dell's laptop has only 164 PPI display density Memory comparison Samsung Galaxy Book Flex Alpha 2-in-1 Laptop's larger 8 GB RAM is better for playing … Starting at $830, the 2-in-1 Galaxy Book Flex α is a variant of the pricier Galaxy Book Flex. That said, the teeny difference in girth and weight probably won’t be too noticeable in a backpack or briefcase. Samsung promises up to 17.5 hours of battery life from the Flex, but we’re curious to see if that estimate stands up to real-world conditions. Samsung has announced the Galaxy Book Flex Alpha ahead of CES 2020. It’s a cheaper $829 2-in-1 laptop that borrows features from the pricier (although still unreleased) Galaxy Book Flex … Copyright © 2020 IDG Communications, Inc. The standard Galaxy Book Flex serves up a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports and USB-C, but no USB Type-A ports. Then there's its 13.3-inch QLED (or quantum-dot) display, complete with 1080p resolution, 100-percent color accuracy, and up to a whopping 600 nits of brightness. Wouldn’t you know that $999 is actually the cost of the upgrade model of the Galaxy Book Flex Alpha- -Ok, hold up ; that name is a mouthful. Another key missing feature is Thunderbolt 3. The upcoming Galaxy Book Flex α (or “alpha”) is slated to arrive in the first half of 2020 with a relatively tame sticker price. Last but not least, one of the niftiest features in the Flex 13’s bag of tricks—a wireless Galaxy phone charger that’s integrated into the touchpad—has been cut for the Flex α. Samsung didn’t give us much detail in the processor department, other than that it's a 10th-gen Intel CPU. Read our, Learn more about PCWorld's Digital Editions. Which features did make the cut? Thanks to the energy-saving benefits of QLEDs, the Flex Alpha should offer plenty of battery life, though it has a smaller 54Whr battery compared to the 69.7Whr cells in the more-expensive pair. © 2020 Verizon Media. It has the same sumptuous QLED screen, running at full HD, and can also hit an impressive 600 nits of brightness in a "Outdoor Mode" you can activate when needed. It still uses that QLED display. That’s part of the reason why the Galaxy Flex will outlast both the Ion and the Flex Alpha … For those who would like something just a little cheaper, though, the company announced a new Galaxy Book last week called the Flex Alpha. The 2.6-pound Flex Alpha isn't the slimmest or lightest laptop around, but it certainly seems like one of the most attractive for its price. The new variant retains the 2-in-1 … The 13-inch Galaxy Book Flex Alpha is a cheaper alternative, starting at $850 for a model with a Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. That rings in at $830, compared to the roughly $1,100 that the Flex and Ion are expected to cost. You also still get the Royal Blue aluminum casing, along with a fingerprint reader for biometric security, an included S Pen, and speedy Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking. Follow all the latest news from CES 2020 here! Samsung has really impressed me with its laptop game lately, delivering super thin and premium machines like the Galaxy Book Flex and Ion, as well as the Snapdragon-powered Book S. But those devices cost upwards of $999, which cuts the budget-conscious user out of Samsung's reach. That rings in at $830… I'm glad Samsung didn't have to sacrifice too much -- you'll still get the same fingerprint sensor on the keyboard for convenient logins, as well as two USB-A 3.0 sockets, one USB C port, a microSD card reader, an HDMI slot and a headphone jack. Let’s pause for a moment to dig into the details: A few things pop out when taking a glance at the Galaxy Book Flex α’s specs, starting with the fact that the alpha is a hair thicker than the comparable 13-inch version of the standard Flex and slightly heavier. Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. PCWorld |. The main tradeoffs Samsung had to make here in addition to the smaller battery, were limiting the graphics card and storage choices. So yes, we’re looking at some notable compromises to squeeze a QLED display into a slim and trim $830 laptop, but we’re not seeing any deal-breakers given the (relatively) bargain price tag, either—or at least, none on paper. But once I picked up the Flex Alpha here at CES 2020, I was relieved. Everything you need to know from the world's biggest tech show, How to buy a laptop for your kid (or revive an old one), Scientists might know why astronauts develop health problems in space, Belkin’s new wireless charger tries to do what AirPower promised, 'Spider-Man: Miles Morales' bug gives NYC the patio heater superhero it needs, Tesla may offer remote access to your car's Autopilot cameras. For the duration of this battle, we’re gonna refer to the Samsung Galaxy Book Flex Alpha simply as Alpha… Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. I was concerned that to drop the few hundred dollars, Samsung would have had to sacrifice build quality and deliver a machine that felt cheaper. The premium Galaxy Book Flex is also built on an Intel IceLake platform with improved graphics performance and support for faster and more efficient LPDDR4s memory. The upcoming Galaxy Book Flex α (or “alpha”) is slated to arrive in the first half of 2020 with a relatively tame sticker price.