Samsung Canada accidentally confirmed the first “Intel Inside” variant of the Galaxy Book S. A premature listing that's still live as of this writing reveals the new Galaxy Book S iteration – identified by model number NP767XCM-K01CA – utilizes an Intel i5 processor from the unannounced Lakefield generation. The misstep hardly reveals surprising information, however; Samsung's ultra-thin laptop has been rumored to launch as the first Lakefield notebook for some time now.
More importantly, the said premature listing confirms Samsung is targeting global availability for this particular version of the Galaxy Book S. That's been far from a given until today seeing how Samsung's notebook release strategy is anything but consistent.
Galaxy Book S ARM vs. Intel differences
The promptly spotted Samsung Canada product page reveals the new Galaxy Book S retains the 13.3-inch Full HD display of the previous models, but pairs it with the Intel Core i5-L16G7 processor and 8GB of RAM, as well as a 42Wh battery. Battery life will be something to look out for here as the first-ever x86-based Galaxy Book S is expected to be less efficient than its ARM counterparts.
Samsung's own landing page suggests up to 17 hours of standalone operation, a noticeable downgrade compared to the 25-hour rating attached to the original Galaxy Book S. Of course, your mileage will vary as real-world usage tends to be a bit more hardware-taxing than continous video playback is, which is what Samsung uses as its performance standard.
The Lakefield version of the notebook also lacks gigabit-grade LTE but otherwise appears similar to the original product family. Dual USB-C ports, Bluetooth 5.0, and microSD card support are still part of the package, much like a discreet fingerprint reader integrated into the power button of the new Galaxy Book S. Consumers will have a choice between 256GB and 512GB models, both of which will be available in Mercury Gray and Earthy Gold.
