Galaxy Book 4 Edge After 2 Weeks: First Gen Problems

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If you’re curious about the latest Snapdragon-powered PCs and whether Windows laptops are finally catching up to Apple's MacBooks, welcome to this video! I recently decided to give up my MacBook Pro for the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge, powered by the the new Snapdragon X Elite chip, to see if it was good enough to replace my M3 MacBook Pro.

In the video, I outline my two-week journey of hands-on experience with the Galaxy Book 4 Edge. I was excited about its lightweight design, powerful Snapdragon 12-Core processor, and vibrant 14” OLED touch screen. It’s super portable, weighing just 1.16 kg, making it perfect for on-the-go use.

I dive into the performance of this laptop in everyday tasks like web browsing, emails, video calls, and general productivity. Spoiler: it handles these pretty well, but I also share the hiccups I encountered, like the inconsistent battery life and the startup issues. Plus, I talk about the seamless integration with other Samsung devices and why that might sway you if you’re already in the Samsung ecosystem.

You'll get the lowdown on the pros and cons, from the beautiful screen and decent performance to the not-so-great webcam and speaker quality. And for the gamers out there, I’ll be honest about the issues with this laptop for gaming.

I’ll also touch on the challenges with Microsoft’s new Copilot+ feature and why it didn’t quite meet my expectations.

By the end of this video, hopefully you’ll know if the Galaxy Book 4 Edge is the right choice for you or if you should wait a bit longer for Windows laptops to truly have their “Apple Silicon” moment!

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⏩ SKIP TO THE STUFF 👇
0:00 Can Windows laptops finally compete with Apple's MacBook?
1:09 Galaxy Book 4 Edge specs
3:33 The display and touch screen
4:59 Installing ARM versions of all my apps
5:49 Samsung ecosystem use
9:01 Suitability for gaming
9:46 Performance for productivity
10:43 Boot up issues
12:08 Battery issues
14:27 Webcam issues
15:15 Speaker issues
15:54 Copilot and AI
18:18 Should you buy one?
19:07 Customer service issues

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Disclosures: All opinions are my own. Some links in the descriptions are affiliate links that if you click on, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

[PeteMatheson]

I was left a little underwhelmed by this laptop... What laptop would you recommend I try out to help me ditch my MacBook and escape the Apple ecosystem?

[anthonjhnon]

I purchased the Surface Laptop 7 and I can open it up after 3 days and it boots up with no problem. I'm also not having issue with battery life. I've work two days, 8 hours on one charge.

[kokop]

One of the best tech reviewers on the web. Love your realistic approach to tech

[Noodles.FreeUkraine]

Yeah, that battery life is just about the only thing that potentially outweighs the drawbacks. I would have sent it straight back as well.

[RickymasterLMFAO]

Always give 1st gen some time in the shelf. I bought mine for $350 with a trade in just 3 weeks ago. The price dropped tremendously. So if you can snag it for sub $500 it's a great laptop and deal.

[bot-]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the effort this guy puts in his videos

[kokop]

Such a shame the machines don't quite live up to the hype. Especially the battery thing was supposed to be a huge deal to me

[ThunderBuddies]

I would love to get a pc like yours. Your setup is awesome. A video talking about what is in your pc would be great.

[arvandvarahram]

Maybe explanations would help.
If you don't like that Windows goes into hibernation when reaching the 6% limit, just configure your low and critical battery levels & actions to your liking.
You say in "Idle mode with screen on" it eats up 10%. What is idle mode with screen on? Screen is the main consumer of battery. If it is on, it eats up battery. Just configure that upon closing the notebook, it goes into sleep mode from which you can come back under one second (and you would not complain about the boot-up tim). And in sleep mode based on other reviews it eats up only 1% or 2% over night. Your 4, 5 hours battery consumption is even worse than the Intel machines and this is definitely not the case with the snapdragon machines. What have been the conditions? Working under bright sunshine? Which Samsung Performance mode? High performance? Was it the first day running updates and building indexes?
Regarding touchpad: it is all about muscle memory and expectations. Force yourself to work with it for one week, then go back to your Macbook and you would complain about your Macbook's touchpad.

[navixaxa]

I have a feeling that maybe the Surface Laptop 7 and the XPS 13 have better Battery Life than all these other Qualcomm SnapDragon laptops.

[arondyte]

I was honestly expecting more from this Windows on ARM push after a year long hype campaign for these X Elite SoC. I’m actually quite concerned what would happen to these when Intel and AMD finally responds later this year. Hope WoA doesn’t go to the back burner again like it has been for the last 12 years.

[netnomad]

I've had great results with my Surface Laptop 7 15 inch. The 15 inch has better cooling, slightly better performance, and battery life than the 13 inch model, even if it's the same X Elite chip

[Le_Bicar]

Hey, i’m a student and "need" to pick a laptop. I don’t care about ai and have a gaming pc at home. Do you think i should go arm or stick to x86? Curious to hear your take on this. Thx

[aidinic]

I have researched extensively and narrowed my options down to three laptops: the Galaxy Book4 Edge 14'', Surface Laptop 7 13.8'', and MacBook Pro M3 Pro 14''. In terms of cost-benefit options, I'm still struggling to make the best choice. Everything about the MacBook is acceptable to me except for its weight and ecosystem, but since I've always been a Windows user and I also have an S24Ultra, seamless connectivity and usability seem challenging with an Apple laptop compared to the Surface and Galaxy Book. My priorities are weight, display, and performance. Since I intend to keep my new laptop for at least four years, I need to consider the most future-proof option. My budget is capped at $2, 000. Could someone please help me make a decision?

[KlKl-mbet]

Can we expect a snapdragon mini pc under 500$ in near future? What about similar cheap laptops below 700$?

[Etbesttube]

The fastest laptop to produce or the fastest laptop in performance 🤔

[vinayakkariwal]

Hey mew to the channel. Great review. Could you suggest between Galaxy 4 edge and Galaxy 4 pro ?

[UmbroKhan]

I can not send my Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 without first paying £286. Samsung wants me to pay a 20% reduction before sending me a postage label. Can you anyone help please.

[ramiabdelmajid]

How can i get this red and blue wallpaper?

[stewjd]

You were using a Samsung laptop. lol Use a Surface Laptop and you'll have a completely different experience.