Next Samsung Series 9 Release

seojuhwan,
it must be in sale starting from the beginning of April as I was told. But shipment is already in the process, I guess. Soon we'll get feedback from first happy owners here

P.S. No news about Series 9 on Haswell yet. If I get it I will post it asap, you we'll be the first to know.

 

At CES Intel had indicate a June launch. I doubt if it will be sooner. And "launch" could mean that only a few Haswell notebooks are immediately available. CPUs at the upper end of the range tend to be particularly scarce to begin with - they are the most challenging ones to make.

John

 

That's right! Yet I do want to believe that by the mid of May we can get a clue on what will be happening by late summer. What I learned is that the number of the series ("9") will be preserved. Will see/hear soon. Intel promises a terrific battery life span, the greatest inbetween the generations of Intel systems they ever had.

 

Thanks for the info, Aiga! Is touchscreen to be expected from the Haswell version? What do you guys think about having touchscreen on your ultrabooks?

 

However, the impact of reduced CPU power consumption may not be as much as people expect because, under light usage, the display is probably the biggest use of power unless the backlight is very dim.

I recall a report that Intel will require touchscreen in order to use the "Ultrabook" label. However, I would value a good, non-reflective, non-touch screen higher than a touch screen. Particularly since the latter will be thicker, which will add thickness and weight.

If the new Series 7 is a guide, Samsung will have both touch and non-touch versions of the Series 9 which will share a common platform.

John

 

I will not buy the thing if it has a touchscreen. Same goes if I cannot at least install Windows 7 on it myself.

 

I agree. I'm sure Win 7 can be installed provided UEFI and SecureBoot are disabled first. This thread should help.

John

 

I think it could be awhile yet till Haswell. I haven't even heard anything since CES. This time last year we already had the ivy mobile roadmap and a tentative release date. My guess is August at the earliest (i.e. back to school) and perhaps later if there are intel delays. I'm sure Samsung will release a system as soon as the chips are available, it's not like they're a third tier manufacturer. I would be surprised if their 8GB DDP doesn't end up in the i7 model as well. While there is low demand for PCs these days (principally due to tablet cannibalization) I'm sure this won't deter Samsung from releasing the update.

 

I believe Microsoft stipulates that all hardware must have the ability to disable SecureBoot.

 

Quite likely. I also can speculate that 2014 with Windows Blue advancements will move us a bit closer to a Retina-like resolution of LCD.

 

Maybe, but whereas I can see the benefit of 233 ppi on my phone that I hold 6 inches from my nose, my eyes can't benefit from that level of detail on a notebook screen which I use at 3 times that distance. Excessive pixels just makes more work for the GPU with increase power consumption.

John

 

I strongly agree with John, I feel 1080P is just too much for the eye. I have to maybe make texts and icons larger but I doubt if that is good enough. The other issue is changing the resolution often result in poor text and image quality, so the best quality is only possible with the highest available resolution.

 

OK, I've been waiting since January for this update to the 9 series, and I'd like to thank everybody who posted in this thread, which I have been following weekly. But now it has apparently came out, I can't get to know the models and their specs to see if it's worth it to wait until it hits the stores, which it still hastn't in my country. I realy need to buy it withing the next weeks.

So, as most other people, I'd like to see either a 13 with more memory (at least 8GB) or a 15 with better screen (non-touch, please). The news pieces I could find, though, quote the same 4GB max for the 13 and only a "new" and very pricey model of the 15 with a better screen.

Can we now safely assume Samsung didn't do any other changes to the remaining models? Will the "standard and not even more pricey" 15 retain its widely criticized screen? Should we expect a version of the 13 with 8GB memory?

Thank you in advance for your input!

 

The X3E with the FHD display and higher capacity SSD options has been in the pipeline for over two months but I haven't seen a report of anyone getting their hands on it. We don't know if the display is the Samsung PLS or an AUO MVA panel (as being used in the Series 7). 8GB RAM might appear with the Haswell refresh - some months back a road map was found that showed an 8GB DDP module being release mid-year.

There's been no further information about an update to the 15" Series 9 other than a passing mention at CES about an FHD display. I doubt that we will see a refresh until Haswell arrives. Samsung persistently neglect this model despite it having a unique niche in the market.

John

 

Thank you very much for the prompt reply, John. I think I'll hand my money to Apple, then, their recently reduced prices on the 13" rMPB leave little room for choice in this segment. Given their innaction and Apples price reduction, I think Samsung just lost part of the niche you mention, at least for people like me who work both on Windows and Mac. I would definitely have gotten this machine had they managed to release a 13" with 8GB ram or a 15" with a decent screen, both obvious blunders on their part. Now Apple prices on the 13 rMBP went down, it's just too unbalanced not to go with those, no matter how much you'd prefer a Samsung. Ah, well.

 

altaneriu,
there will be no refresh of the screen option on 15", unfortunately. At least in the nearest months until Haswell update comes.

 

Thank you, Aiga. Quite unfortunate and quite a blunder on their part, if you ask me. The 13" are really aching for 8GB and the 15" for a decent screen.

 

I don't suppose there's any word on a touchscreen SS9 in the pipeline?

 

How would you change the S9 on engadget:

How would you change Samsung's Series 9?

I assume their market research will review the comments.

 

This is a mistake. Having a great screen on the 13.3" and a good screen on 15" invites criticism. That and Samsung makes the screens for the Apple Retina MacBook Pros.

It seems silly for them not to make a PLS screen for the 15" Samsung Series 9.

No matter. I am dumping my Series 9 when the next MacBook Air is announced.

 

Thors.Hammer,
agree. Theoretically, they have to switch to PLS on 15" as both upgrades (again, theoretically) can retain the price differentiation between 13" and 15". Will see if it happens in some regional markets in Asia/US.

 

Some news here (and it doesn't read as a 1st April special except for the pricing).

John

 

How do we know they're not joking???

 

The specs of the X3E have been in circulation for a while so there's no surprise in that respect. The $1900 US price tag won't cause a queue. Someone forgot the basic rule that the new model with better specs comes in at no more than the price of the old model.

John

 

Pretty pricey for that S9..Amazon doesn't have it available yet but their price for the i7/128GB/4GB is $1399 making the upgrade to 256GB on the one in that link $500...ridiculous.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3E-A02US-13-3-Inch-Ultrabook-Mineral/dp/B00B588I46/ref=pd_ybh_6

and $1399 is also the price Samsung has on their website..can't find the 256GB version there.

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP900X3E-A02US

 

As is typical with Samsung, you never know what to believe until the product starts shipping in all channels. I certainly would not rush out to buy one of these machines until some trusted and respected reviewers have put a fine toothed comb on it.

Considering you can buy a 256GB mSATA SSD for $200 USD, spending anything above that isn't wise. I can understand a small premium for the FHD screen, but I will ignore it unless it makes its way to the 15" model. Not interested in 1920x1080 on a 13.3".

 

The only way to make sense of this is that Samsung will sell this along with the X3D and X3C, with X3E being the high spec (256GB SSD, Core i7, FHD screen), X3C being in the middle (Ivy Bridge CPU), and X3D being the cheaper option (Sandy Bridge i5 clocked lower than X3B model).

I think we'll see a proper refresh of the Series 9 line with touchscreen option, 8GB RAM in the 13", and 2560x1440 screen when Haswell comes out.

 

that would be awesome

 

They are already using the ivy bridge in the X3D-A04US..I don't think there is any chance at all they will go back to using the sandy bridge again in anything. They did it once and it was a hit for those of us that bought it really, really cheap. I don't think they will ever be able to hit that again.

 

Yea, but they hosed everyone including themselves by doing that. Because of that $899 stunt, I can no longer sell my $1400 NP900X3D for what it should be worth. As a result, I am stuck with it for some time. I also will never pay $1400 for one again because of it. And I don't think anyone else should either.

They polluted their own family of models, cannibalized themselves and the resale market for their customers.

Yea, I'm bitter about it.

 

I paid $699 for mine from Amazon. They were running a special for a couple of weeks. I originally bought it just for web browsing and email but since then I have been using it for a lot more. I don't mind slinging it around in my briefcase because if anything happens to it the investment was minimal but I agree that I don't think I would ever want to spend $1400 on a laptop that I would have to travel with regularly.

 

At this moment there are two NP900X3E-A03UK (Intel Core i7 3517U 1.9GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 8) on Amazon.uk at £1499 and ten NP900X3E-A01UK (Intel Core i7 3517U 1.9GHz Processor, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 8) on Amazon.uk at £1299.

The £200 mark-up for the 512GB SSD isn't extortionate given that there's no other way to buy that capacity at this time.

John

 

That's more than reasonable..it seems Asus added $1000 to their prices for anything that includes a 512GB SSD. The A01UK is reasonable too, the only one Amazon has listed so far for the US is $1399 and it's i7/4GB/128GB. Not bad as it is only $100 more than the old one it replaces and that had i5/4GB/128GB and a lessor display. Still the UK versions seem priced much better.

 

I guess John was referring to the retina / haswell speculation.

I'm currently working on 11.1" 766p and can easily cope with a few more dpi. A 13.3" Full HD with it's crisper screen in combination with more real estate I think is a welcoming change.

 

John, since the 900X3E is now in stores wouldn't it be wise to give it a dedicated thread?

 

What stores have them on display? I'd like to go see the new screen just for fun.

 

I was referring to FHD. I found that 100% scaling on 1600 x 900 on my X3B was causing eye strain (but 100% scaling on 1600 x 900 on my X4C is OK). More pixels means having to use 125% or more display scaling to ensure legibility. Even higher resolution is only useful for bragging purposes. If I read this review correctly manipulating all those pixels slows down the graphics. I should add that my eyes are well after their "best before" date. 20 or so years ago they could handle microscopic text such as on this display.

I would wait until someone says they have their hands on this model. Until then the thread will just collect speculation which is best continued in this thread.

A few X3Es on Amazon UK hardly means "in store".

John

 

I have had 11.6" and13.3" 1920x1080 versions of both Asus and Acer and in the end returned them all. They were all really good but after using any of them for a few hours I felt the strain. I also didn't see a huge difference between those and the 1600x900 Samsungs. All had IPS screens so that wasn't a factor and MS themselves set the default scaling on their Surface PRO to 150% which tells you what they think.

 

It seems the major problem is to find the screen

I'm using my 11.1" 768p on 100%. Without calculating the exact dpi, this is more or less like 13.3" 900p. And my eyes feel like they could go with a little higher dpi still.
I guess it's just personal preference or more so your eyes preference. Working on many windows simultaneously to me the additional real estate is worth the extra resources consumed.
I'd probably still keep my 4y old TT if it wasn't for the HD only panel, although i feels a bit sluggish at times meanwhile.

In case you don't mind a German keyboard:

5 configurations in stock
900X3E - heise online Preisvergleich

 

It seems the Germans are getting the best choice of the new Series 9 as well as for the new Series 7. We can expect a review to appear at notebookcheck before too long and they will subject the display (the only change) to their usual scrutiny.

John

 

oled was the one that said they were in a store, not me.

I see from the German configs all the models are still 4GB of RAM. Bummer.

 

We had previously identified that an 8GB DDP package should be available mid year so it might show up in the X3 along with the Haswell refresh.

For those who need more than 4GB RAM, the new Series 7 13" (NP730U3E / NP740U3E) is an alternative, albeit with a thickness / weight penalty, but may be lighter on the wallet.

John

 

Just got word that the new series 9 will be released in July, new cool design.
Can also confirm touch and full hd.
Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

And this comes with Haswell?

 

Do they offer a version without touch? Otherwise I don't want it.

 

Can't you just disable the "use finger as input" and not use the touchscreen?

 

Why add extra weight and price for unnecessary touch?

 

Because it's Intels dubious requirement for haswell ultrabooks!?

 

Samsung series 9 is frequently called notebook even though it is an ultrabook. Maybe, the can be allowed to exclude touch from it.

 

Intel also wanted Ultrabook prices to drop to $599 by the end of this year.
This comes to mind:

The only way they will get get to that price point is by giving the CPUs to the manufacturers for free (the lower cost for the Sandy Bridge X3D shows the impact of CPU pricing). Maybe the compromise will be a lower cost CPU for those Ultrabooks that comply with Intel's other requirements and notebook manufacturers will also be free to produce non-ultrabooks with whatever the manufacturers want. IIRC, the 15" Series 9 is not an offical Ultrabook and there's the practical consideration that the bigger the screen then the further back the user tends to sit (at least that's what happens with me). so, with the keyboard almost at arm's length I have to reach forward to touch the screen.

We can but wait and see. If Samsung have any sense they will continue what they have done with their other new notebooks and produce both versions.

John