Samsung Series 9 (2012) - The Next Wave

The Next Wave

When the Samsung Series 9 (2011) was first released last year, we found that it had many ideal traits of what an ideal Ultrabook should be, apart from its price (which was listed at about S$2500). Since Intel already defined the typical specs of an Ultrabook, including the price point, which was set at a more comfortable US$1000 and below range, this obviously meant that Samsung was unable to label their notebook as an Ultrabook and instead referred it as a premium notebook (which it was given the materials and components used to create the original Series 9 notebook). Some time later, Samsung introduced their official line of Ultrabooks - the Series 5 Ultra notebooks. However because they were made to be affordable, they weren't as robust, or attractive as the Series 9 notebooks. 

Of course, that’s not to say the original Series 9 notebooks were perfect, as we did note design aspects that could be improved. We took special note of those while evaluating the new Samsung Series 9 (2012) edition. So what has changed or not changed? While the newcomer is also not qualified to be officially called an "Ultrabook" (again due to its price point which is above S$2000), its super thin form-factor, build quality and use of an Intel consumer ultra low voltage processor indicates otherwise. To most consumers, the form and specs dictate a notebook class rather than its price point which varies by time, so go ahead and call it a premium Ultrabook if you think that makes more sense. But according to Samsung, it's 'just' a new premium notebook.

Is the Newcomer All Good?

Instead of the unique Duralumin material and plastic base construction of the original model, the 2012 Series 9 adopts the same uni-body build that the Macbook Air has, which would explain why the newcomer feels sturdier overall. It’s also much lighter (1.16kg) than last year's model (1.31kg) and the Macbook Air (1.3kg). Thanks to the notebook's tapered design and good weight distribution, it feels even lighter than specified. Unfortunately, the edge where your wrists rest on, is really sharp. This was an issue we’d had with other Ultrabooks made of aluminum, including the Macbook Air. Using the machine for prolonged periods could result in a very uncomfortable experience, especially when propped up on your lap.

One of our other major concerns we’ve had with the original 2011 (13-inch) Series 9 notebook, is the fact that the keyboard housing was made of plastic. The flex that came with that much plastic also made it feel cheaper than its suggested retail price. So when the 2012 Series 9 reached us, it was one of the first things we took note of, and we were glad it has improved - somewhat.

There is still a slight bit of flex when you press down hard on the backlit keyboard, but you won’t feel it while you're busy mashing away on the keys. Unfortunately though, this time the keys are pretty shallow. Its a typical trade off you can expect from a very thin (14.9mm) notebook, which needs to keep its sleekness and weight (1.16kg) down.

It could have still gotten away with shallow keys if they were 'springy' in nature, but the implementation of the chiclet keys left us slightly underwhelmed. The keys themselves don’t have much bounce, while some of the keys (such as the backspace button) are slightly wobbly, which means they are a tad noisy while some may be dismayed by the wobbly feel on an expensive notebook. That’s not to say the keyboard isn't any good of course. They still function as you’d expect them to, just that we’ve seen better (Lenovo U300s and Macbook Air for example). And at price points beyond S$2000 like the Series 9 notebook, one would be more demanding on the finer aspects of usability.

So it's not Perfect. But Here's Why it's Still Good

As a second generation variant of an impressive notebook, that’s about where our complaints end of the 2012 Series 9 notebook. We begin our positive note with the giant clickable glass trackpad (or clickpad) is back once again and we're most pleased with it. Next is the overall look of the notebook. Some may find that it looks sleeker, but others might argue that it’s less sexy (not as curvy as the 2011 version).

Mentioned earlier, the material used is also different this time. Instead of the very hard duralamin, Samsung now uses the more conventional aluminum alloy, which doesn’t compromise build quality much, but helps reduce the price down somewhat. The finish of the material is also different now; where it was all black with a brushed metal texture, on the 2012 Series 9, it’s dark blue with a matte texture throughout the machine. It’s equally nice, but it also reminds us of the finish found on the Apple Macbook Air, just that it's of a different color.

Besides the obligatory upgrade to Ivy Bridge, the new 2012 Samsung Series 9 also boasts a significant upgrade to its screen. You won’t find the standard (and downright appalling for a 2012 notebook) 1366 x 768-pixel resolution on this machine. Instead, you will find a very sharp 1600 x 900 pixels resolution screen like the one found on the ASUS UX31, except the Series 9’s screen goes up to a blinding 400 nits (just like the one on the 2011 Series 9). Oh and the screen has a matte finish!

It’s nice to have such a bright screen when using it outdoors, on a bright sunny day. However we found that having to look at it all day guarantees eye fatigue even after a short while. We reckon most users would opt to turn the display brightness down. Another drawback with a bright screen, is that it draws more power than competing notebooks. It’s not a big issue (as you would soon find out), but rather, just something users should take note of when comparing our battery performance results in the later pages.

Then hinges holding up the screen was also pretty rigid, and it doesn't require two hands to open - a point which some users may be very particular about. As for the speakers, they are still pretty impressive for such a small machine, but this time it felt like the speakers are louder yet. Turning the volume up all the way doesn’t make your music sound warbly or distorted. They are located at the underside of the machine, but aren’t obstructed because of the machine’s curved sides, which is another good design point.

Performance Benchmarking

Last year’s Series 9 was one of the first Ultrabook-esque notebooks to appear in the market. This year’s model however, is almost identical, save for the processor (Ivy Bridge). For comparison, we've included an Intel Ivy Bridge reference Ultrabook, which give us a baseline. Next is an Ultrabook with discrete graphics, the HP Envy 4, for those who are undecided if they need that extra bit of power in their Ultrabooks. Other notebooks of interest in this comparison are the Sony Vaio T and the Acer Aspire S5.

From the charts below, you can see that the Series 9 performance is pretty respectable in terms of overall performance (PC Mark 7). It’s not the best performer, despite packing a Core i7, but we found the differences negligible. In fact you can simply look at it from the perspective that processor type isn’t the be-all end-all that today’s marketing spiel makes it out to be.

The more telling sign of a notebook’s overall performance, lies pretty heavily with what type of storage it’s using. In this case, it’s possible that the reference notebook packs an SSD with better performance (an Intel reference notebook is of course fitted with an Intel SSD, which has made a name for itself with enthusiasts who swear by it). This is despite the fact that the processor used in the reference notebook is a slightly slower variant (Core i5-3427U, 1.8GHz).

From the performance numbers, what consumers actually need to know is that the Series 9 is very adequate for a wide variety of usage scenarios. Everything from flash games, Youtube videos and light editing of photos and videos would definitely not pose any problems whatsoever. Standard productivity applications are also not a concern for these modern notebooks. As usual, stay clear away from expecting a good gaming experience as these notebooks aren't designed for that purpose.

Battery Life and Portability Index

The most important aspect of an Ultrabook is its portability. And when you talk about portability, battery life is inevitably drawn into the conversation. For benchmarking, we used Futuremark's Powermark benchmark test. It puts the machine through typical scenarios like internet browsing, managing documents, pictures and even some 3D rendering. Here, the Series 9 isn’t as impressive. It achieved only 173 minutes in our Powermark benchmark test. That’s almost an hour less than the Intel Ivy Bridge reference notebook. Even the HP Envy 4, which packs discrete graphics, managed to pull ahead.

However, to put things into perspective, the Samsung Series 9 (2012) has a much better screen than all of the notebooks in this lineup. Its resolution is the same as the Ivy Bridge reference notebook at 1600 x 900 pixels resolution. However it’s definitely much brighter at 400 nits (at maximum brightness). A screen that has is much brighter (even though we test at the 50% mark) is bound to consume more energy (15.26 Watts), which it does. When the screen is turned down to the minimum, we managed to coax an extra 20 to 30 minutes out of the machine. That doesn't give it a lot of added advantage, but we can tell you that at whatever brightness level, it will be brighter than the competitors and hence always consumer more power comparatively.

In a way, this is can be considered as its plus point. This is because when you aren’t on the move, you can have one of the brightest notebooks around (if you wish to tune it all the way up). And when you’re on the go, toning down the screen brightness to the minimum also means that the screen is still bright enough to get your work done, while consuming less energy for a slightly better battery life.

For those wondering about the Series 9’s overall portability, you can refer to our below Portability Index. It is a ratio that takes into consideration elements like weight, battery life and volume. The figures produced here basically tells you if it’s worth the effort to lug it around as opposed to other members in its similar category. The figures shift with notebook class, so it's only accurate to compare against similar notebooks.

With a ratio of 1.972, it’s actually close to the ideal figure of the Intel reference notebook. Here, the Series 9’s saving grace is its incredibly low weight of 1.16kg. So even though it’s kind of let down by its battery life, the machine’s weight also helps it achieve a respectable portability ratio. Now consider the fact that the notebook's default brightness level is much higher than the competitor's and we reduce it down to a minimum, which is still very usable. At this setting, we mentioned earlier that we could obtain close to 30 minutes extra battery life. If you use this new battery life figure of roughly 200 minutes of up-time, the Samung Series 9 notebook would then have a portability ratio on par with the Intel reference machine at 2.279. Not bad at all.

Almost Perfect

All in all, the very slim and ultra light Samsung Series 9 is one of the best Windows based Ultrabook-esque notebooks you can buy on the market right now. It has a simple but excellent design, a nice bright (400 nits) matte screen with a comfortably high resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. The only issue here is that it also costs quite a fair bit more than anything else in the market.

For that kind of money, we wouldn’t blame you if you got yourself a Macbook Air instead. The highest specced Macbook Air is about S$2088, while the Samsung Series 9 (2012) costs about $2188 for almost the same specs. For just about $100 more, you’ll be getting a brighter, higher resolution screen (the MBA's screen is 1440 x 900), which would in itself be a big draw. Note that Samsung also managed to squeeze a faster Core i7-3517U (1.9GHz) processor into that price point. We’d have to assume that Samsung had to take a margin hit for something like that to happen, which is good news for consumers. About the only setback between the Samsung and Apple contenders is down to the 128GB SSD in the Series 9 instead of a 256GB SSD found in the similarly priced Macbook Air counterpart.

As for the raw performance itself, it didn’t really outshine the other notebooks having an SSD, but we must say that it still performed up to expectations with its Core i7 processor. In fact, should you throw in video encoding and graphics rendering tasks, the Samsung will have the slight upper hand against the competition just because of its beefier processor. There isn’t any area in terms of performance which it is particularly weak at, so there’s not much for us to point out. 

The only thing we can see Samsung improving on in the next Series 9 notebook, is the keyboard. It was shallow, and tactile feel was almost absent. Keys were somewhat loose and gave a wobbly feel. Thankfully it has a good clickpad and everything else about that notebook was what you’d expect from a S$2188 machine.

Of course the golden question is this: "Would HardwareZone recommend this notebook?" The answer would easily be a yes - subjected to your actual needs. In terms of value, the Samsung Series 9 has managed to catch up to the Macbook Air, with notable extras for only $100. We would have preferred it if Samsung gave consumers an option for a Core i5 processor and a 256GB SSD instead of a Core i7 processor and a 128GB SSD because the extra storage capacity can come in really handy. That and of course a better keyboard would have made our day. Of course as we mentioned above, Samsung gives you a brighter, higher resolution screen, faster processor and an ultra light weight to boot. It's now just a matter of which trade off you prefer to go with.

Comparisons aside, once you've made up your mind to go for it, you won’t be disappointed because it delivers on almost every front. If the screen size is a little too small for you, you can always take a look at the 15-inch cousin of the Series 9 which costs just a tad more, but features the same build materials and unique qualities you've come to expect from this premium series.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.

The Next Wave

When the Samsung Series 9 (2011) was first released last year, we found that it had many ideal traits of what an ideal Ultrabook should be, apart from its price (which was listed at about S$2500). Since Intel already defined the typical specs of an Ultrabook, including the price point, which was set at a more comfortable US$1000 and below range, this obviously meant that Samsung was unable to label their notebook as an Ultrabook and instead referred it as a premium notebook (which it was given the materials and components used to create the original Series 9 notebook). Some time later, Samsung introduced their official line of Ultrabooks - the Series 5 Ultra notebooks. However because they were made to be affordable, they weren't as robust, or attractive as the Series 9 notebooks. 

Of course, that’s not to say the original Series 9 notebooks were perfect, as we did note design aspects that could be improved. We took special note of those while evaluating the new Samsung Series 9 (2012) edition. So what has changed or not changed? While the newcomer is also not qualified to be officially called an "Ultrabook" (again due to its price point which is above S$2000), its super thin form-factor, build quality and use of an Intel consumer ultra low voltage processor indicates otherwise. To most consumers, the form and specs dictate a notebook class rather than its price point which varies by time, so go ahead and call it a premium Ultrabook if you think that makes more sense. But according to Samsung, it's 'just' a new premium notebook.

Is the Newcomer All Good?

Instead of the unique Duralumin material and plastic base construction of the original model, the 2012 Series 9 adopts the same uni-body build that the Macbook Air has, which would explain why the newcomer feels sturdier overall. It’s also much lighter (1.16kg) than last year's model (1.31kg) and the Macbook Air (1.3kg). Thanks to the notebook's tapered design and good weight distribution, it feels even lighter than specified. Unfortunately, the edge where your wrists rest on, is really sharp. This was an issue we’d had with other Ultrabooks made of aluminum, including the Macbook Air. Using the machine for prolonged periods could result in a very uncomfortable experience, especially when propped up on your lap.

One of our other major concerns we’ve had with the original 2011 (13-inch) Series 9 notebook, is the fact that the keyboard housing was made of plastic. The flex that came with that much plastic also made it feel cheaper than its suggested retail price. So when the 2012 Series 9 reached us, it was one of the first things we took note of, and we were glad it has improved - somewhat.

There is still a slight bit of flex when you press down hard on the backlit keyboard, but you won’t feel it while you're busy mashing away on the keys. Unfortunately though, this time the keys are pretty shallow. Its a typical trade off you can expect from a very thin (14.9mm) notebook, which needs to keep its sleekness and weight (1.16kg) down.

It could have still gotten away with shallow keys if they were 'springy' in nature, but the implementation of the chiclet keys left us slightly underwhelmed. The keys themselves don’t have much bounce, while some of the keys (such as the backspace button) are slightly wobbly, which means they are a tad noisy while some may be dismayed by the wobbly feel on an expensive notebook. That’s not to say the keyboard isn't any good of course. They still function as you’d expect them to, just that we’ve seen better (Lenovo U300s and Macbook Air for example). And at price points beyond S$2000 like the Series 9 notebook, one would be more demanding on the finer aspects of usability.

So it's not Perfect. But Here's Why it's Still Good

As a second generation variant of an impressive notebook, that’s about where our complaints end of the 2012 Series 9 notebook. We begin our positive note with the giant clickable glass trackpad (or clickpad) is back once again and we're most pleased with it. Next is the overall look of the notebook. Some may find that it looks sleeker, but others might argue that it’s less sexy (not as curvy as the 2011 version).

Mentioned earlier, the material used is also different this time. Instead of the very hard duralamin, Samsung now uses the more conventional aluminum alloy, which doesn’t compromise build quality much, but helps reduce the price down somewhat. The finish of the material is also different now; where it was all black with a brushed metal texture, on the 2012 Series 9, it’s dark blue with a matte texture throughout the machine. It’s equally nice, but it also reminds us of the finish found on the Apple Macbook Air, just that it's of a different color.

Besides the obligatory upgrade to Ivy Bridge, the new 2012 Samsung Series 9 also boasts a significant upgrade to its screen. You won’t find the standard (and downright appalling for a 2012 notebook) 1366 x 768-pixel resolution on this machine. Instead, you will find a very sharp 1600 x 900 pixels resolution screen like the one found on the ASUS UX31, except the Series 9’s screen goes up to a blinding 400 nits (just like the one on the 2011 Series 9). Oh and the screen has a matte finish!

It’s nice to have such a bright screen when using it outdoors, on a bright sunny day. However we found that having to look at it all day guarantees eye fatigue even after a short while. We reckon most users would opt to turn the display brightness down. Another drawback with a bright screen, is that it draws more power than competing notebooks. It’s not a big issue (as you would soon find out), but rather, just something users should take note of when comparing our battery performance results in the later pages.

Then hinges holding up the screen was also pretty rigid, and it doesn't require two hands to open - a point which some users may be very particular about. As for the speakers, they are still pretty impressive for such a small machine, but this time it felt like the speakers are louder yet. Turning the volume up all the way doesn’t make your music sound warbly or distorted. They are located at the underside of the machine, but aren’t obstructed because of the machine’s curved sides, which is another good design point.

Performance Benchmarking

Last year’s Series 9 was one of the first Ultrabook-esque notebooks to appear in the market. This year’s model however, is almost identical, save for the processor (Ivy Bridge). For comparison, we've included an Intel Ivy Bridge reference Ultrabook, which give us a baseline. Next is an Ultrabook with discrete graphics, the HP Envy 4, for those who are undecided if they need that extra bit of power in their Ultrabooks. Other notebooks of interest in this comparison are the Sony Vaio T and the Acer Aspire S5.

From the charts below, you can see that the Series 9 performance is pretty respectable in terms of overall performance (PC Mark 7). It’s not the best performer, despite packing a Core i7, but we found the differences negligible. In fact you can simply look at it from the perspective that processor type isn’t the be-all end-all that today’s marketing spiel makes it out to be.

The more telling sign of a notebook’s overall performance, lies pretty heavily with what type of storage it’s using. In this case, it’s possible that the reference notebook packs an SSD with better performance (an Intel reference notebook is of course fitted with an Intel SSD, which has made a name for itself with enthusiasts who swear by it). This is despite the fact that the processor used in the reference notebook is a slightly slower variant (Core i5-3427U, 1.8GHz).

From the performance numbers, what consumers actually need to know is that the Series 9 is very adequate for a wide variety of usage scenarios. Everything from flash games, Youtube videos and light editing of photos and videos would definitely not pose any problems whatsoever. Standard productivity applications are also not a concern for these modern notebooks. As usual, stay clear away from expecting a good gaming experience as these notebooks aren't designed for that purpose.

Battery Life and Portability Index

The most important aspect of an Ultrabook is its portability. And when you talk about portability, battery life is inevitably drawn into the conversation. For benchmarking, we used Futuremark's Powermark benchmark test. It puts the machine through typical scenarios like internet browsing, managing documents, pictures and even some 3D rendering. Here, the Series 9 isn’t as impressive. It achieved only 173 minutes in our Powermark benchmark test. That’s almost an hour less than the Intel Ivy Bridge reference notebook. Even the HP Envy 4, which packs discrete graphics, managed to pull ahead.

However, to put things into perspective, the Samsung Series 9 (2012) has a much better screen than all of the notebooks in this lineup. Its resolution is the same as the Ivy Bridge reference notebook at 1600 x 900 pixels resolution. However it’s definitely much brighter at 400 nits (at maximum brightness). A screen that has is much brighter (even though we test at the 50% mark) is bound to consume more energy (15.26 Watts), which it does. When the screen is turned down to the minimum, we managed to coax an extra 20 to 30 minutes out of the machine. That doesn't give it a lot of added advantage, but we can tell you that at whatever brightness level, it will be brighter than the competitors and hence always consumer more power comparatively.

In a way, this is can be considered as its plus point. This is because when you aren’t on the move, you can have one of the brightest notebooks around (if you wish to tune it all the way up). And when you’re on the go, toning down the screen brightness to the minimum also means that the screen is still bright enough to get your work done, while consuming less energy for a slightly better battery life.

For those wondering about the Series 9’s overall portability, you can refer to our below Portability Index. It is a ratio that takes into consideration elements like weight, battery life and volume. The figures produced here basically tells you if it’s worth the effort to lug it around as opposed to other members in its similar category. The figures shift with notebook class, so it's only accurate to compare against similar notebooks.

With a ratio of 1.972, it’s actually close to the ideal figure of the Intel reference notebook. Here, the Series 9’s saving grace is its incredibly low weight of 1.16kg. So even though it’s kind of let down by its battery life, the machine’s weight also helps it achieve a respectable portability ratio. Now consider the fact that the notebook's default brightness level is much higher than the competitor's and we reduce it down to a minimum, which is still very usable. At this setting, we mentioned earlier that we could obtain close to 30 minutes extra battery life. If you use this new battery life figure of roughly 200 minutes of up-time, the Samung Series 9 notebook would then have a portability ratio on par with the Intel reference machine at 2.279. Not bad at all.

Almost Perfect

All in all, the very slim and ultra light Samsung Series 9 is one of the best Windows based Ultrabook-esque notebooks you can buy on the market right now. It has a simple but excellent design, a nice bright (400 nits) matte screen with a comfortably high resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. The only issue here is that it also costs quite a fair bit more than anything else in the market.

For that kind of money, we wouldn’t blame you if you got yourself a Macbook Air instead. The highest specced Macbook Air is about S$2088, while the Samsung Series 9 (2012) costs about $2188 for almost the same specs. For just about $100 more, you’ll be getting a brighter, higher resolution screen (the MBA's screen is 1440 x 900), which would in itself be a big draw. Note that Samsung also managed to squeeze a faster Core i7-3517U (1.9GHz) processor into that price point. We’d have to assume that Samsung had to take a margin hit for something like that to happen, which is good news for consumers. About the only setback between the Samsung and Apple contenders is down to the 128GB SSD in the Series 9 instead of a 256GB SSD found in the similarly priced Macbook Air counterpart.

As for the raw performance itself, it didn’t really outshine the other notebooks having an SSD, but we must say that it still performed up to expectations with its Core i7 processor. In fact, should you throw in video encoding and graphics rendering tasks, the Samsung will have the slight upper hand against the competition just because of its beefier processor. There isn’t any area in terms of performance which it is particularly weak at, so there’s not much for us to point out. 

The only thing we can see Samsung improving on in the next Series 9 notebook, is the keyboard. It was shallow, and tactile feel was almost absent. Keys were somewhat loose and gave a wobbly feel. Thankfully it has a good clickpad and everything else about that notebook was what you’d expect from a S$2188 machine.

Of course the golden question is this: "Would HardwareZone recommend this notebook?" The answer would easily be a yes - subjected to your actual needs. In terms of value, the Samsung Series 9 has managed to catch up to the Macbook Air, with notable extras for only $100. We would have preferred it if Samsung gave consumers an option for a Core i5 processor and a 256GB SSD instead of a Core i7 processor and a 128GB SSD because the extra storage capacity can come in really handy. That and of course a better keyboard would have made our day. Of course as we mentioned above, Samsung gives you a brighter, higher resolution screen, faster processor and an ultra light weight to boot. It's now just a matter of which trade off you prefer to go with.

Comparisons aside, once you've made up your mind to go for it, you won’t be disappointed because it delivers on almost every front. If the screen size is a little too small for you, you can always take a look at the 15-inch cousin of the Series 9 which costs just a tad more, but features the same build materials and unique qualities you've come to expect from this premium series.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.