The Meme Behind Intel's Latest Gamble: The Galaxy Book S

It was all just a meme until it started looking really bad for blue team, and now things aren't looking super great for Intel. On desktops, they're getting hammered by AMD, and in thin and light laptops, there's ARM to contend with. Apple will be ditching Intel for their own ARM-powered machines in a couple of years, and even Microsoft has been flirting with ARM in the form of Qualcomm-powered devices, like the Surface Pro X and Galaxy Book S. But that's why this machine is so exciting for Intel - it's the Intel version, not the Qualcomm version.

This device uses the exact same design as the first one, but with an important difference: it's powered by Intel's latest Lakefield chip, which promises to deliver impressive battery life and the ability to run x86 apps natively. Samsung says that this version of the Galaxy Book S gets 17 hours of video playback, although in real-world use, we ended up getting around 11 or 12 hours with this thing. Which is still really impressive, if not as impressive as the sick merch you can get from lttstore.com.

The other major plus for this version of the Galaxy Book S is its ability to run x86 apps natively. The creator actually got a Cinebench result for this thing and was surprised to find that it didn't perform crushingly bad, getting crushed by the HP Envy X360 that has similar battery life. However, when used for more demanding functions like Content-Aware Fill, the app chugged a bit. Still, in terms of general use, we didn't really notice anything too concerning while using this thing as our work laptop.

It's worth noting that the Lakefield version doesn't come with LTE, although it can connect to slower forms of broadband. The five-core L16G7 has less raw horsepower than the eight-core higher clock Snapdragon 8cx. But if you've got some money to spend on a ridiculous, thin and light notebook that will run Photoshop, the Galaxy Book S is here for you.

The future of Lakefield devices remains to be seen, as Intel's future may depend on it. Will this device pave the way for more better Lakefield devices in the future? Only time will tell.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en♪ It was all a meme ♪♪ I used to diss Intelthrough the screen ♪♪ Until it started lookingreally bad for blue team ♪- Because it is.Yeah, things aren't lookingsuper great for Intel right now.On desktop, they'regetting hammered by AMD.And in thin and light laptops,there's ARM to contend with.Apple will be ditching Intelfor their own ARM-poweredmachines in a couple of years.And even Microsoft hasbeen flirting with ARMin the form of Qualcomm-powered devices,like the Surface Pro X and Galaxy Book S.But that's why this machineis so exciting for Intel.It's the Galaxy Book S.The Intel version,not the Qualcomm version.That's right,this is the first notebook on the market,powered by an Intel Core processorwith Intel Hybrid Technology processor.(sighs) see, this iswhat I'm talking about.Intel just called it Lakefield.Just called it Lakefield.Anyways, Lakefield istargeting ARM head-onand it has five Cores,which is weird,but also might be awesome.Just like this segue to our sponsor.Today's video is brought to you by MSI.The MSI MAG CORELIQUID 360R - AIOis quiet and featuresof rotating blockhead,high thermal dissipation,radiator pump design and more.Check it out in the link below.(upbeat music)As I mentioned, thereare two Galaxy Book Ss.The first one was powered bya Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx,which is essentially a Snapdragon 855modified for desktop use,and was announced atSamsung's 2019 Unpacked event,one year ago.Like other Windows laptopswith ARM-based Qualcomm processors,the Galaxy Book S sportedsome killer featureslike a super thin and light body,built-in LTE connectivity,and ridiculously long battery life.23 hours of video playback?Why would you even...can we settle down please?But it was delayed into 2020,long enough for Microsoftto release their ownARM-powered Surface Pro Xfeaturing the Snapdragon SQ1,which is basically aneven further modified 8cx.I reviewed that device last yearand the story therewas similar to the onebeing told by reviewersof the first Galaxy Book S.It's very pretty,and can stay awake a long time,but being an ARM-powered laptop,it has a fatal flaw.It's an ARM-powered laptop.See, ARM architecture isn'tbetter than x86 architectureacross the board.There are trade offs.ARM uses a much smaller instruction set,which leads to greater power efficiency,but doesn't lead to thetype of unlimited powerthat you can get with fullyloaded Intel or AMD processors.And then there's the fact thatour most popular desktopoperating systems,Windows and Mac OS,are built for x86 processors.So a lot of 64-bit programsjust can't run on ARM chips.Now companies likeMicrosoft, Apple, and Adobeare trying to fix thiswith compatibility layersthat allow x86 apps to run on ARM.But the experience variesfrom pretty dang good,as seen in Microsoft's Edge browser,to pretty dang sucky,as seen by anyone who triesto use Photoshop on ARM,or run Cinebench.As new and cool as it is,ARM just hasn't got enough sick gainsto do bicep curls with the big boys.And that is where Intel may smell(sniffs)opportunity.Because this,the second Galaxy Book S,uses the exact samedesign as the first one.It's got a 13.3 inch touch display,a super thin 11 millimeter bodythat only weighs about two pounds.There's two USB-C ports,one on each side,plus a headphone jack,which the Surface Pro X lacked.Thank you, Samsung.The trackpad is as large as it can beand is generally smooth and responsive.And the keyboard is,that's not very good.It's got a mushy bottom,very little travel,and I think we got aninternational version of it becauseit's got some weird keys on there.Like what, what is this,what how do I, what do,what do I do with that?But the difference with thisversion of the Galaxy Book S,is that instead of anARM-powered Qualcomm processor,it's running an Intel Coreprocessor with Intel Hybrid it'sit's running a Lakefield processor.A Core i5-L16G7.And it's the first one of its kind.Here's why that's important.Lakefield is Intel's answer to ARM.Part of the reason ARMprocessors are so power efficientis because they use what ARM callsa big.LITTLE design,in which low power coreshandle less demanding taskswith more heavy operationsbeing handled by high power cores.Lakefield adopts this same strategy,pairing one powerful Sunny Cove Core,with four smaller Tremont Cores.So,can this odd number of cores,even the odds against ARM?Well, while this designdoes give the Intel-poweredGalaxy Book S veryimpressive battery life,Samsung says it gets 17hours of video playback,it doesn't stretch thenotebook's 42-watt hour battery,as much as the Qualcommversion with 25 hours.But neither of those reflectreal world use anyways.And we ended up gettingaround 11 or 12 hourswith this thing.Which is still really impressive,if not as impressive asthe sick merch you can getfrom lttstore.com (laughs)The other major plusfor this version of the Galaxy Book S is,as I alluded to before,it's ability to run x86 apps natively.I actually got a Cinebenchresult for this thing.And, yeah,it's pretty lackluster,getting crushed by the HP Envy X360that has similar battery life.But it's a result.Whereas our Surface Pro Xwouldn't even launch the app.Photoshop!I used the Galaxy Book S toedit a thumbnail in Photoshop.And while some of themore demanding functionslike Content-Aware Fill chugged a bit,it was mostly fine.Just fine.And in terms of general use,I didn't really noticeanything too concerningwhile I was using thisthing as my work laptop.It's paltry eight gigs ofRAM wasn't quite enoughto keep the content in all my browser tabsand messaging apps fully all the timeand general system navigationwas definitely slower thanmy regular work laptopwith its Core i7.But unlike a Windows on ARM machine,I wasn't holding my breathevery time I launched an app.At the very least,I knew it would probably run.So,sign me up for theIntel-powered Galaxy Book S.Lemme just go and addit to my cart and ah!950 bucks?No!Yeah, if you wanna tryone of these machines outfor yourself,know that you will bestepping very clearly into theearly adopter role.The Galaxy Book Svery much belongs tothat category of devicesthat companies design,not so much to appeal tothe average Joe or Karen,but to the average Bezos or Beyonce.There's some other downsides here too.The Lakefield versiondoesn't come with LTE,although it can connect toslower forms of broadband.And the five-Core L16G7has less raw horsepowerthan the eight-Core higherclock Snapdragon 8cx.But if you've got some money to spendon a ridiculous, thin and light notebookthat will run Photoshop,the Galaxy Book S is here for you.Now, it just remains to be seenwhether it will pave the way for morebetter Lakefield devices in the future,because Intel's futuremay depend on it.And we depend on youchecking out our sponsor,which is,- Calling all gamers!Two of the biggest Rocket League YouTubersSunlessKhan and Musty,are racing head-to-head toreach 1 million subscribers.Both creators provide engaging videos,highlighting a 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