Samsung Galaxy Book Odyssey test: a laptop designed to work and entertain

Samsung is best known for its household appliances, televisions and smartphones.But, in recent years, the technology giant has produced fantastic laptops and chromebook.

In recent weeks, I have used and tested one of the company's last laptops, the Samsung Galaxy Book Odyssey.This 15 -inch laptop that has punch is made for those who need a laptop that will allow them to work and play.

Here are the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Book Odyssey that I tested:

Samsung also offers models with more memory and storage.For example, you can double memory to 16 GB or wear it to 32 GB, which automatically increases storage to 1 to.

Image: Jason Cipriani/Zdnet.

Samsung Galaxy Book Odyssey design

Odyssey looks like a typical 15 -inch laptop.Its black case rather looks like a very dark gray in my eyes.The lid is decorated with a silver Odyssey logo.When you open the cover, you are greeted by a normal size keyboard with a miniature digital block on the right.

The power button is in the upper right corner, and acts as fingerprint reader to easily unlock the Odyssey or connect to applications.

The vertical edges of the 15.6 -inch FHD screen are about half the size of the upper edge, leaving room for the webcam 720 p and the microphones.The camera configuration does not work with the Windows Hello facial unlocking, but the fingerprint sensor does a good job alone.

The trackpad is off -center compared to the laptop computer and keyboard, but it is not badly placed.It is just below the space bar and is always at hand.

Image: Jason Cipriani/Zdnet.

Regarding ports, you will have trouble not finding what you are looking for on the Odyssey.On the right side of the platinum is a microSD card reader, a 3.5 mm audio socket, a folding Ethernet port and two USB 3 ports.2.The left side of the case has a USB-C port, another USB 3 port.2, an HDMI port and, finally, a second USB-C port which is also used to load the Odyssey.

The Odyssey weighs just under 2 kg and has a size of 35.5 cm x 23 cm x 1.8 cm.It is not an ultralight or super portable device, but you should not have problems put it in a backpack and transport it on your campus, to your office or at home.

The design of the Odyssey is not impressive, but it does not need to be.This is a basic design with a superior quality feeling that seems elegant.

Image: Jason Cipriani/Zdnet.

Battery performance and autonomy

Inside the Odyssey is an Intel Core i7 processor, an RTX 3050TI with max-q, 8 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage.It is an interesting list of components, and with the addition of a more muscular GPU like the RTX 3050TI that you will normally find in a laptop of play.The Odyssey is built for work and a little game.

I have been testing the Odyssey for a few weeks now, using it for daily tasks like watching YouTube, shopping on Amazon and other random tasks.I also spent a little time using it for work, checking emails, responding to slack messages, monitoring Twitter, writing and occasionally retouching photos.Odyssey has kept the pace for all these tasks without any horsicukered or slowdown.

I launched the PCMARK 10 benchmark to give you an overview of the performance type you can expect from this particular model.With a respectable score of 5,698, the reference score of Odyssey results in a laptop quick to follow your daily tasks and your workflows.This reflects my experience.

As the Odyssey is equipped with a RTX 3050TI, it is natural to think that you can use it to play.And to a certain extent, it is possible.I installed Call of Duty: Warzone to see how far I could push the game performance of the Odyssey and, after tinkering the graphic parameters, I was able to obtain between 50 and 60 images per second in a constant way.

Image: Jason Cipriani/Zdnet.

Where the GPU will really shine in a laptop like this, it is not necessarily in games with AAA titles, but rather in resource-gourmet workflows such as publishing videos, photos oreven the use of CAD programs.

That said, you can always get out of it if you play occasionally.Just set out appropriate expectations and know what you will get in terms of performance.

I enjoyed typing on the keyboard, even if I could do without the small digital pavement located on the right side of the keyboard.It is too narrow for my taste.

I did not join the trackpad: either it is far too sensitive, or it is not enough, when I type and slide in the applications and the interface.I tried to adjust the sensitivity parameters, without success.

Another aspect of the Odyssey that I found insufficient is the screen itself.It is a complete high definition screen with a resolution of 1080 p, and this aspect is very good.But the lack of brightness and color saturation leaves me hungry.Samsung is known for bright and lively display panels it produces for televisions, monitors, phones and tablets.I was waiting for the same thing from the Odyssey.

Samsung says you should get up to 12 hours of use with a single load.I executed the Modern Office Autonomy Test of PCMARK 10 which simulates a normal working day, combining image editing, navigation and occasional video.I disabled bluetooth, keyboard backlight and I adjusted the screen brightness to 50 %.The Odyssey held 5 hours and 31 minutes in this test.My personal use lasted longer than this reference result, with enough power to hold a typical working day.

Samsung software

Normally, I don't spend much time talking about a Windows laptop software because, well, it's a Windows laptop.However, Samsung laptops have a slightly different approach to software, because Samsung has several of its own applications which are preinstalled on its laptops.

These same applications are also present on tablets and Samsung smartphones.Applications like Quick Search to find files on the laptop or Quick Share to share files with nearby Samsung devices.Another application installed on the Odyssey is Galaxy Book Smart Switch.Similar to Smart Switch for smartphones, Galaxy Book Smart Switch will help you configure your new laptop, transfer files, settings and even your Microsoft Store applications.

Some of these applications, such as those I have just mentioned, as well as Samsung Updates, Gallery or Notes, seem logical to me.Each of them provides useful service or access to files, photos or videos that are also stored on your smartphone.But the list of preinstalled Samsung applications is long and borders on excess.For example, Bixby is installed.I do not know anyone who uses Bixby on a smartphone, and that makes no sense to have the virtual assistant of Samsung on a laptop.Alexa is also preinstalled on the Odyssey.The same goes for live message and live wallpaper.These two apps are not really necessary on a laptop.

Samsung has a heavy hand to push its applications and services on all its devices, so it is not surprising that a Windows 11 device has the same problems - I would just like this not the case.

Apart from the applications specific to Samsung, there is an application that we have to talk about: the antivirus McAfee.It is a bloatware and it is incredibly boring to deal with the prompts asking to analyze a file, a folder or to ensure that antivirus analysis is active.Fortunately, you can delete McAfee in a few clicks, but I would have liked users not to care.

In conclusion

The Galaxy Book Odyssey is a solid laptop that has some compromises.The screen is disappointing but does not necessarily constitute an obstacle, unless your work consists in retouching photos and videos.If you need a laptop at a reasonable price and with great power, the Galaxy Book Odyssey deserves to be considered.

Source: ZDNET.com