Samsung launches Ativ Book 9 Pro ultrabook, Ativ Book 9 Spin convertible

Samsung is updating its line of thin and light laptops with two new models:

• Ativ Book 9: A $1599 notebook with a 15.6 inch, 2160p display
• Ativ Book 9 Spin: A $1399 notebook with a 360 degree hinge and 13.3 inch, QHD+ display

Both laptops should be available in the US from Best Buy and Samsung.com by the end of November.

The Spin is the model I’m more interested in. While the starting price is a bit steep, it looks like a pretty major upgrade from the Samsung Series 9 ultrabook I bought in 2012.

The new model has a Core i7-6500U Skylake processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of solid state storage, and a 3200 x 1800 pixel touchscreen display that you can flip back all the way for use in tablet mode.

While the new model packs a lot more power than my aging laptop (or the Ativ Book 9 Plus models that Samsung has released in the past few years), it’s still a pretty compact machine, measuring about 0.6 inches thick and weighing 2.9 pounds.

It also has a backlit keyboard, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, stereo 2 watt speakers, three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI output, a microSD card reader, and a battery that Samsung syas should be good for up to 7.3 hours of run time.

Looking for something a bit bigger and more powerful? The Ativ Book 9 Pro is a heftier laptop, measuring 0.7 inches thick and weighing about 4.5 pounds. But under the hood it has an Intel Core i7-6500HQ processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M graphics.

It also has all the features of the Spin (except the 350 degree hinge) plus quad speakers, a USB 3.1 Type C port, support for 4K video output. While Ativ Book 9 Pro is bigger than the Spin, it’s also more power hungry: Samsung says you should expect up to 6.5 hours of battery life.