Samsung is introducing a new 15.6-inch model of its Ativ Book 9 at the Consumer Electronics Show today. While the ultrabook maker unveiled its impressive 13.3-inch Ativ Book 9 Plus back in June, the 15.6-inch version drops the Plus moniker and the high resolution display in favor of battery life. Samsung has opted for a 1920 x 1080 resolution on its 15.6-inch display instead of the 3200 x 1800 one found on the 13.3-inch model. It’s a significant difference for this ultrabook, and one that likely helps the company claim this particular model’s battery will last 14 hours.


Aside from the display and battery life estimates, this 15.6-inch model looks very similar to the smaller variant. There’s a choice between Intel Core i5 or i7 processors with 128GB SSD and 256GB SSD respectively, and each model ships with 8GB of RAM. Samsung appears to have focused on the display, keyboard, and speakers this time around. The company claims the 15.6-inch display is 20 percent brighter with a new anti-reflective coating to help reduce glare on the screen. A reduced flat key plane and new rubberized coated keys should better suit user’s fingers and reduce key tapping. Samsung has also added a lossless audio component to the Ativ Book 9, providing improved ultra high quality audio.





If Samsung can deliver with its promised battery life then this looks to be one of the more impressive ultrabooks in the 15-inch range. However, Samsung did originally promise 12 hours of battery life for its 13.3-inch model, but then dropped the estimate massively to just 7.5 hours when it priced the laptop months later. In our own tests we managed 5 hours, 36 minutes with the 13.3-inch Plus model. It’s possible this latest estimate is equally ambitious, but without the super high resolution display that should certainly help battery life prospects.


Alongside Samsung’s new ultrabook the company is also launching a new all-in-one. The Ativ One 7 includes a 24-inch 1920 x 1080 display, Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of HDD storage. Samsung isn’t pricing either of its 2014 Ativ products, and the company has not yet provided exact release dates.