In announcing the Galaxy Book 6 series (available in regular, Pro, and Ultra) at CES 2026, Samsung admitted what everybody already knew, which is that consumers are being very conservative when it comes to buying new laptops, only replacing their machines every five years or so. That’s why the Galaxy Book 6 series is less about having a flashy design that’ll look dated in a few years and prioritizes performance and battery life.
As you can guess from the branding, the Galaxy Book 6 is split into “good” (regular), “better” (Pro), and “best” (Ultra) tiers. If you want the best specs with the fastest performance and graphics power, you should look into the Galaxy Book 6 Ultra.
No word on pricing or release date yet, but keep reading for all the differences and some first impressions.
The regular Galaxy Book 6 comes in 14- and 16-inch models with 1,920 x 1,200 resolution IPS screens at 350 nits of brightness and with a 120Hz refresh rate for the touchscreen model (non-touchscreen versions max out at 60Hz). The non-touchscreen version also comes with an anti-glare coating.
Inside, the Galaxy Book 6 is powered by Intel Core Ultra 7 and Ultra 5 (Intel Panther Lake) CPUs, Intel Graphics, and an Intel NPU with 49 TOPS. You’ll have options of 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. For ports, the Galaxy Book 6 has two USB-C, two USB-A, HDMI, microSD, a headphone jack, an Ethernet port, and a security lock. There’s a 2-megapixel (1080p) webcam and stereo speakers that support Dolby Atmos. You also get a fingerprint sensor built into the power button.
The trackpad is a mechanical “clickpad.” Samsung says you should expect up to 18 or 21 hours of battery life for video playback.
The 11.9mm-thick Galaxy Book 6 Pro is one step up. It’s also available in the same 14- and 16-inch screen sizes, but the display tech is the superior Dynamic AMOLED 2x with higher 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and increased brightness (1000 nits for HDR and 500 nits for SDR content). All models of the Galaxy Book 6 Pro come with touchscreens, an anti-glare coating, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
Performance is beefier here. For the CPU, you get the option for the more powerful Ultra X7 in addition to Intel Ultra 7 and Ultra 5, Intel Arc Graphics or Intel Graphics, and more NPU performance with 50 TOPS. RAM and SSD configs are the same as the regular Galaxy Book 6. The ports are upgraded: two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB-A, one HDMI 2.1, and a headphone jack. The webcam is the same 2-megapixel (1080p) sensor, but the speakers are quad speakers on the 16-inch model. The 14-inch model only has room for stereo speakers. Both Galaxy Book 6 Pro models support Dolby Atmos sound. There’s the same fingerprint sensor.
The trackpad on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro is a more responsive “haptic touchpad” that I can confirm works more reliably for scrolling, swiping, and tapping than the regular “clickpad” in the Galaxy Book 6. Samsung advertises up to 30 hours of battery life for video playback in the Galaxy Book 6 Pro.
The top-end Galaxy Book 6 Ultra is the thickest (15.4mm) and heaviest version in the family—the bigger footprint is necessary to fit all of its power—and only comes in a 16-inch model. The touchscreen uses the same Dynamic AMOLED 2x in the Galaxy Book 6 Pro.
CPU flavors come in Intel Core Ultra X9, 9, X7, and 7 options. For the GPU, you get your choice of Nvidia RTX 5070 or 5060 or Intel Arc Graphics. RAM is up to 64GB of LPDDR5X and SSD storage maxes out at a higher 2TB. The Galaxy Book 6 Ultra has all of the same ports as the Galaxy Book 6 Ultra plus an SDXC memory card slot. It also has the same 2-megapixel webcam. The speakers are even better than on the Galaxy Book 6 Ultra—six speakers (two upward-firing and four side-firing) with Dolby Atmos support that deliver louder sound with more bass. The power button also houses a fingerprint sensor.
The Galaxy Book 6 Ultra has the haptic trackpad and up to 30 hours of video playback.
In 2026, there’s not really a whole lot that you can do to push laptop designs, especially non-gaming laptops that aren’t supposed to come with over-the-top RGBs, vents, or gimmicks like secondary screens. Samsung’s Galaxy Book 6 series plays it safe with a simple and clean design. In fact, my first impression of the laptops was… they look like mashups between the pre-Apple silicon MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, while copying the modern MacBook Pro’s black-colored keyboard. Even the oversized haptic trackpads and fingerprint/power button combo seemed very Apple-esque.
There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from two of the best laptop designs to ever come out and focus on features that consumers care most about, which are performance, battery life, the screen, and the sound. But I like it when companies create their own signature industrial design identity. Samsung used to do that, and I really miss it.
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Source: Gizmodo