Samsung’s Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 has stood out to me in the past few weeks of use for several reasons. First off, it offers a noticeably larger screen size than what I’m used to when using a laptop. Its bold and beautiful display radiates from the minimal bezels and design. While Samsung continues to invest heavily in AI features and support, I didn’t quite expect the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 to be able to support such a strong battery life.
2025 has been a year of travel for me. Nearly every week, I’ve been away from my desk, on airplanes and working in hotel rooms. I’ve taken a couple of laptops with me, including the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16. To test out its power and usability as an on-the-go device, I brought Samsung’s laptop with me as my workhorse. Powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, I was continually impressed by how much productivity it enabled. However, there are some quirks to the device that impacted my ongoing enjoyment of the device. With that in mind, with a starting price of $2,999, Samsung does offer a robust offering of sheer power, efficiency, and an assortment of perks that extend across the company’s ecosystem, including Galaxy AI.
Taking a look at the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16, Samsung’s device offers a minimalist yet clean design overall, encompassing a 13.99 x 9.86 x 0.65-inch footprint. With a 16-inch dynamic AMOLED display, the device is capable of supporting a 2880 x 1800 resolution and stunning 120Hz refresh rates. This kind of clarity and smooth visuals make the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 beam when in use. If you’ve used a Samsung device over the past few years, you probably know the standard in place when it comes to the use of AMOLED. Here is no different. Every use of the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16, I was continually impressed by the sheer colour gamut and contrast stemming from the device. I was also pleased by the automatic, vivid, sRGB, Adobe RGB, or DCI-P3 colour presets included.
Under the hood, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 supports the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, powering all of the Galaxy AI features. Samsung is also utilizing a NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of dedicated video memory. It also comes paired with 512GB of SSD storage. Samsung is also providing Wi-Fi 6E support and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless pairing. All-in-all, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 offers well-rounded power. However, it’s the utilization of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H chip that really defines the device’s strengths.
As far as ports are concerned, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 features a HDMI 2.1 input, supporting 8K @ 60Hz. There are also two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left-hand side of the device. On the right, you’ll find a USB-A 3.2 port and a microSD card slot. All in all, I’m very happy with the ports. The only major downside is having to use the chunky USB-C power plug to charge the device. While offering 140Wh charging, the brick itself takes up a ton of space, especially if you’re integrating it into a power strip.
The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 is designed to be a well-rounded, portable laptop for your daily essentials in and out of the workday. For the majority of my use of the device, I’ve been using it mainly as a substitute for my main desk setup and rig while I’m travelling. While I am forced to downgrade from a dual-monitor arrangement, the 16 inches of screen real estate is plenty as I’m able to pull up two separate windows for Chrome, or write and have Slack open on the side. Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 is also ripe for video editing with enough room on the display so I can comfortably work on the timeline without it feeling as though it’s congested.
Samsung’s use of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H chip allows for streamlined productivity across many instances. If you’re editing videos, recording a podcast, or writing documents, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 has your back in spades. I was able to edit and render videos and audio without sacrificing efficiency in other projects. Intel’s Meteor Lake processor also gives way to Galaxy AI and Copilot integrations as well. Samsung also has a ton of software preinstalled on the device. Working within the Samsung ecosystem, you’ll find Quick Search, Samsung Flow, Samsung Notes, Samsung Recovery, Samsung Settings, Samsung Update, Samsung Pass, Second Screen, Quick Share, Galaxy Book Experience, and more.
What really helps emphasize the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16’s ability to become your next powerhouse is its battery life. On average, I was able to draw out an all-day battery life from the device. While still utilizing high-productivity apps as well as video streaming, I managed to get around 16 hours of battery from the laptop. Once the battery had been depleted, I was typically able to recoup around 50 percent of the battery in around 30 minutes or so using the included charger. While I tested some third-party charging options, none were able to replicate the speed or reliability of Samsung’s oversized charging brick.
With great power, comes great concessions, or something similar. As mentioned, being on the road a lot, I’ve wanted to bring the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 with me as much as was feasible. With the screen size the device provides, I was met with the realization that the device does not comfortably fit in my usual backpack. So, I was left at a fork in the road, forgoing the larger screen size and taking a smaller laptop with me, packing the device in a carry-on or purchasing a new backpack, capable of accommodating the size. I went with the latter.
The other design hurdle that I had to wrap my head around was the keyboard and trackpad. To offer a compliment to Samsung, I did appreciate that the company opted to include a numeric keypad onto the device, taking advantage of the available space. All of the keys are backlit and spaced quite nicely. However, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 features half-sized arrow keys towards the bottom, each doubling as the Fn keys for Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down. It’s quite a dramatic design choice that my brain still hasn’t fully gotten used to.
The glaring issue I take with the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 is its obscenely large trackpad. Perhaps it’s the way I’m using the device and the way I type but I can’t comfortably settle on a wrist position. The trackpad is so large that oftentimes my wrist will touch it, causing the cursor to select a section of a document where I’ll begin typing accidentally. I always have to be cautious of where my wrists are. Alternatively, I wish the trackpad wasn’t as sensitive so these mistakes wouldn’t detract from my productivity.
Despite some minor frustrations with the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16, I think Samsung has developed a robust laptop. Leveraging its extensive background in exceptional displays, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 supports one of the most vivid screens I’ve had the pleasure of using in a laptop. With the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor and NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU, productivity and performance are razor-sharp. While not necessarily becoming a gaming laptop, Samsung developed a unit that’ll encompass many of the daily essentials.
With a premium price tag attached, Samsung’s Galaxy Book4 Ultra 16 is one of the high-end devices capable of providing this level of efficiency. However, if you’re in the Samsung ecosystem, you’ll likely be delighted by the pre-installed apps and Galaxy AI support, marrying the use of your Galaxy smartphone and tablet.
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