Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro vs Surface Pro 8 (artist comparison)

The Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 was announced in Feb 2022. Full specifications for the 13.3 and 15.6-inch convertible laptops can be found here. The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 was released in Oct 2021.

In this article are my thoughts on these two products, mostly on the usability and experience when it comes to drawing. I don't have the Samsung but I do have the SP8.

The main thing to note when getting Samsung products is not to buy the wrong one. Not all Samsung laptops and tablets support the S Pen which is usually included. All Microsoft Surface products support the Surface Pen, and the SP8 supports Slim Pen 2 with improved drawing performance.

Pen

Drawing performance of S Pen vs Slim Pen 2 is quite similar. Main differences come down to the features and design of the pen. Here are the pros and cons of each pen.

S Pen
+ Does not require a battery to work
+ Usually included with the product sold
+ Soft rubberised tip
+ Good tilt, pressure sensitivity, initial activation force
+ Palm rejection
- One side button, not customisable

Slim Pen 2
+ Good tilt, pressure sensitivity, initial activation force
+ Palm rejection
+ One side button, back eraser button with some customisation
+ Haptic feedback to simulate friction
- Sold separately
- Charging requires a separate accessory
- Customisation of back button limited to pre-programmed shortcut
- Haptic feedback supported on very few apps
- Haptic feedback is not real friction
- Pen tip quite smooth on glass

I personally prefer the S Pen because it's included, and price of replacement pens and tips are not as expensive compared to Slim Pen 2.

Processor

Samsung uses the 12th gen Intel processors while the SP8 uses the 11th gen. There's just a difference of one generation of the performance difference will not be huge. The i5 processors are definitely more than capable for multi-tasking, photo editing, 1080P video editing, drawing, graphic design work without lag. 16GB of RAM is recommended. If you're someone with heavy workload, e.g. exporting videos in background while you do other work, the Intel i7 processor may be a better choice.

Battery life

Notebookcheck has the battery life for the previous Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 at 11 hours during their wifi streaming test. That's really good battery life for a Windows laptop.

Surface Pro 8's battery life, based on my experience, is around 5-6 hours. If you use SP8 at 120Hz, max brightness, while working, maximum battery life is just 4.5 hours.

If your workflow involves bringing the device out often, Samsung is the battery choice in terms of battery life. If you always have access to a nearby power outlet, the shorter battery life of the SP8 may not matter as much. Having said that, SP8's 5-6 battery life is just not good.

For devices with shorter battery life, you'll have to charge them more often since you'll run out of battery often. Lithium batteries have limited life cycles. That's to say that SP8's battery life isn't good now, but it's going to get worse one year later with daily charging.

Usability

Both the Samsung and Microsoft devices are meant to be use on table top due to their weight.

Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 is a convertible where you can fold the keyboard to the back. You will have to fold it when drawing because the hinge will not be able to hold its position while you press down to draw. This means you'll have to buy a tablet stand so that you can draw on the Samsung comfortable -- I use the Parblo PR100 stand. You'll also need to buy a wireless keyboard so that you can have access to keyboard shortcuts.

The Surface Pro 8's hinge is surprising stiff and can actually hold its position quite well as long as the display is more upright. But if you want to draw with the display at a lower angle, you'll still need to get a tablet stand, and possibly a wireless keyboard. The Surface Signature Keyboard case is not wireless unfortunately.

One main downside of the Samsung is the display aspect ratio of 16:9 compared to the 3:2 aspect ratio on SP8. 3:2 aspect ratio is more productive because when you have a fixed width, you can see more vertical content. Another downside is resolution on the Samsung is just 1080P which will have noticeable pixelation compared to the SP8 with much higher resolution.

Ports

Port selection on the Samsung is good. You get USB-C Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, USB-A, HDMI and a microSD card slot.

On the SP8, you just get two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports.

Value for money

Price of the base model Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 13.3-inch with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage starts at US $1249.

Surface Pro 8 has been out for several months and you can find good discounts and/or bundles occasionally.

https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/galaxy-books/compare/