Samsung Adds Lightweight Notebook 9 Models To ATIV Book Series [Updated]

Samsung has announced two new additions to its ATIV Book 9 series of Ultrabooks, a 13.3-inch and a 15-inch model that are lighter and thinner than the currently available ATIV models and now called Notebook 9’s. Samsung has decided to go with an Apple-like silver color for these new models instead of the more unique gunmetal blue color of the other Books 9s, but other than that their overall design is still quite similar.

Both these notebooks naturally use Intel’s Skylake processors, but unfortunately, Samsung has been very light on the details, so we don’t have full specifications for either of them. However, they have already been announced for the Korean market, and the models there come with processor choices ranging from a Pentium 4405U up to a Core i7-6500U. The Korean models also come with 4 or 8 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB SSDs. Of course, we are not sure if the models being released in North America will have the same specs, so once we have more information we’ll be sure to update.

Specifications

13.3-inch Notebook 9 900X3L

The 13-inch model weighs in at 1.85 lbs and is half an inch thick, and Samsung said it is “one of the lightest and thinnest laptops to the market.” Those figures are quite impressive when you compare them to the current Broadwell-powered 13.3-inch ATIV Book 9 Plus, which weighs 3.06 lbs and is 0.54-inches thick. To achieve this incredible weight savings, Samsung has incorporated “new light metal material,” though we are not sure how much this will impact its durability.

A neat trick of these new models is that the screen, which is Full HD, can be laid completely flat, although what the practical use of this feature is escapes us. Along with the display’s resolution, we do know that it will be super bright and have wide viewing angles with an anti-glare coating for outdoor visibility.

Because we weren’t provided specifications, we don’t have too much additional information at this time, but from the images provided, we can at least see what ports it has. Like the current ATIV Book 9 Plus, there are two USB 3.0 ports (one on each side), micro HDMI, and two proprietary dongle connectors for Ethernet and additional video connections. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the 13.3-inch model has a USB Type-C port, a big oversight for a 2016 notebook.

15-inch Notebook 9 900X5L

The 15-inch model looks very similar to 13-inch, but with a bigger display. However, unlike the smaller model, the 15-inch design is quite a bit different than the current 15.6-inch ATIV Book 9 Pro.

This new model has a “revolutionary slim bezel” that allows it to be smaller than most other 15-inch Ultrabooks. The display is still just a 1080p panel – there is no mention of a 3K or 4K option – and it can also lie flat like the new 13.3-inch Book 9. There is no mention of the use of “light metal material” in the construction of this larger model, although because of how compact it is, we also expect it to be thinner and lighter than its peers.

The port layout on this model, from what we can see in the images we were provided, is also quite different than the Book 9 Pro, with what looks to be a new proprietary dongle connector, and a full-sized HDMI and USB 3.0 on the right side. We don’t have an image of the left, but we expect to see more USB ports and (at least) one USB Type-C port that “supports 4K display output.”

At the time of writing this, we don’t have any pricing information for either model. They will be available early 2016 at select retailers and Samsung.com.

Update, 1/05/16, 4:20 pm PT: Updated name to correct “Notebook 9” designation, specification table added, and availability information updated.

Alex Davies is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware and Tom's IT Pro, covering Smartphones, Tablets, and Virtual Reality. You can follow him on Twitter. Follow Tom's Hardware on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.