Samsung’s Galaxy Book 3 Ultra laptop includes AMOLED screen tech borrowed from phones

True to the rumors, Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Book 3 line — including the company’s first-ever Ultra laptop model. The Galaxy Book 3 Pro, Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 convertible and Galaxy Book 3 Ultra all center around 120Hz, 2,880 x 1,800 “Dynamic AMOLED 2X” displays with technology lifted directly from Samsung’s higher-end smartphones. You’ll only find touch input on the Pro 360, but this still promises rich colors (120 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut), smooth responses and DisplayHDR True Black 500 support.

The 16-inch Galaxy Book 3 Ultra (pictured above) is, unsurprisingly, billed as a performance powerhouse. It comes with up to a 13th-gen Intel Core i9 and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 graphics — this is very much a gaming machine. You can also expect up to 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD (with an expansion slot), a 1080p webcam and an AKG-tuned quad speaker array with Dolby Atmos surround. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB-A port, a microSD slot, a headphone jack and HDMI round out connectivity. The Ultra is an easy-to-carry system despite the specs, weighing 3.9lbs and measuring 0.65in thick thanks to a “full” aluminum frame that you’ll also find in other models.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360
Samsung

The Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Pro 360 (middle) are more conventional thin-and-light portables. Both support up to a 13th-gen Core i7 and lean on integrated Iris Xe graphics. They support up to 32GB of RAM a 1TB SSD and the ports of the Ultra, but don’t have the Ultra’s expansion or HDMI 2.0 compatibility (only HDMI 1.4). The Pro is available in a very light (2.42lbs) 14-inch model as well as a 16-inch (3.4lbs) configuration, while the Pro 360 is only available in a 16-inch (3.7lbs) variant. The touchscreen laptop does have optional 5G, however.

Integration with Samsung’s phones is tighter than before, too. Multi Control now lets you steer your handset (not just your tablet) using the Galaxy Book 3’s keyboard and trackpad — you can drag-and-drop content between devices. You can automatically upload the phones’ Expert RAW photos and edit them in Adobe Lightroom, too. The company is also eager to note support for Microsoft Phone Link, including new productivity features. You can quickly continue web browsing on your computer, or quickly connect to your phone’s hotspot.

Prices start at $1,249 for the Galaxy Book 3 Pro, $1,399 for the Pro 360 and $2,199 for the Ultra. Pre-orders begin today. They’ll ship on February 17th, starting with the Pro and Pro 360 notebooks. It’s evident that the Ultra is the headliner, though, as it’s one of the few truly portable laptops that can still deliver the performance needed for games and heavy-duty media editing.

Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra hands-on: NVIDIA RTX 4070 power in a super slim frame

Samsung is ready to take its Ultra branding to the final frontier — at least, as far as its mobile products go. After introducing an Ultra variant of its tablets last year, the company is launching a similarly high-specced model of its Galaxy Book lapt…

Apple’s new audiobook narration service uses AI voices

When you browse Apple Books for your next audiobook, you might come across a few titles with a note that says they were “Narrated by Apple Books.” That’s because the tech giant has released a catalogue of titles that make use of its new AI-powered digital narration service. The company said the service uses the advanced speech synthesis technology it developed “to produce high-quality audiobooks from an ebook file.” 

According to The Guardian, Apple approached independent publishers who may be interested in teaming up for the project’s launch in recent months. Authors were reportedly told that the company behind the technology would shoulder the costs of turning their books into audiobooks and that they would be earning royalties. Apple, as secretive as ever, apparently remained unnamed at that point of the process and required partners to sign non-disclosure agreements. 

In its announcement, Apple touched on how commissioning voice actors and producing audiobooks could cost writers and publishers thousands of dollars. For independent authors, especially those just starting out, it’s not always possible to spare that much money. But thing is, the audiobook market has grown tremendously in recent years — it earned $1.6 billion in sales in 2021, and experts reportedly believe the market could be worth over $35 billion by 2030. Authors wouldn’t only be missing out on potential income by not creating audiobook versions of their titles, but also the opportunity to build their brand and following while the market is still growing. 

The tech giant said its digital narration technology will make audiobook creation more accessible. There is truth in that, and if the project turns out to be successful, it could change the future of audiobooks. Books narrated by a digital voice aren’t exactly new, though, and they’re typically hard to listen to due to how robotic they sound. David Caron, a co-producer at a large audiobook publisher in Canada, also raised an important point in his statement to The Guardian: “The narrator brings a whole new range of art in creating audiobook… They’re creating something that is different from the print book, but that adds value as an art form.”

At the moment, Apple offers authors two digital voices to choose from: One soprano and one baritone. They sound pretty human, based on the samples the company shared, but the sound clips were short and might not be a genuine representation of the whole audiobook’s quality. Apple is only accepting books in the romance and a limited number of other fiction genres for now. The books must already be available on Apple Books, must be in English and must pass and editorial review. It’s working to expand AI narration’s availability, however, and will soon offer it to nonfiction and self-development authors. The company will also launch two more digital voices for those genres. For now, you can listen to audiobooks that use Apple’s AI by searching for “AI narration” in Apple Books.