The Samsung ATIV BOOK 9 Spin is a recent entry in the premium tier of 2-in-1 ultraportables and a direct competitor for the HP Spectre X360 and the Lenovo Yoga 900.
The ATIV Book 9 Spin is not available worldwide, but for those of you living in the US, it’s definitely a device worth considering. A latest generation Core i7 configuration with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD sells for around $1300, which puts it on par with a similarly equipped version of the Spectre x360 and makes it $100 more expensive than the Yoga 900. For that kind of money you’ll also get a 2.9 lbs aluminum unibody, a 360-degrees convertible display with a QHD+ IPS panel, a full-set of ports and a 39 Wh battery.
I’ve added a complete specs sheet below for more details.
| Samsung ATIV Book 9 Spin 13.3-inch |
|
| Screen | 13.3 inch, 3200 x 1800 px resolution, 10-finger multi-touch, IPS |
| Processor | Intel Skylake Core i7-6500U CPU |
| Video | Integrated Intel HD 520 HD |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR3L 1600 MHz |
| Storage | 256-512 GB SSD (M.2 SATA) |
| Connectivity | Wireless AC Intel 8260 , Intel Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Ports | 3x USB 3.0, HDMI, mic/earphone combo, microSD card reader |
| Baterry | 39 Wh |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home/Pro |
| Size | 314 mm or 12.39” (w) x 220 mm or 8.69” (d) x 14.9 mm or .59” (h) |
| Weight | 1.30 kg or 2.87 lbs |
| Extras | backlit keyboard, aluminum unibody |
Now, if you’re looking for a premium hybrid 13-incher, you probably read our comparison of the Yoga 900 and the Spectre x360, based on our reader’s Ash impressions, who bought both of them in his quest for the perfect ultraportable. When the Spin was launched, he gave this one a try, and below you’ll find what he thinks about this Samsung, after owning it for a few weeks. Go through the post and post your feedback and questions in the comments section, Ash and I are around and will help if possible.
Slim profile view that reminds of previous Ativ products
Here are Ash’s initial impressions of the Samsung ATIV BOOK 9 Spin:
“I just got the Samsung Spin.
I’m about to turn it on and then upgrade the SSD to a 1TB Samsung and Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro. Hopefully all of that will go well and then I’ll begin testing it all out. First thoughts are that it is VERY well built. It feels even more solid than the Spectre’s aluminum case. It also feels very lightweight and looks beautiful. Tablet mode feels almost as good as the Yoga 900 in terms of weight. The device is not as long as the Yoga as you can see in the pics I’m attaching (included below).”
A few days later, he came back with more feedback:
“So far, I can say that the Spin feels much like the Spectre, but is even more solidly built. It’s also bit thinner feeling and lighter than the Spectre, but not as light as the Yoga 900.
The Spin’s case is very slick (almost too slick, like the iPhone 6, as in slippery). But that gives it a very smooth and clean look and feel. It also feels VERY solid inside out.
Clean case finish
Samsung claims that they built this thing to last and I do not doubt it. I’ve gone over every inch of this device with a bright LED flashlight, looking for scratches and poor quality control. Samsung has outdone HP and Lenovo as far as QC is concerned. Out of the HP and Lenovo’s I’ve tried in the past 3 months (a total of about 15 devices), I had to exchange them all for a replacement for one reason or another, whether it was for dead/sleeping pixels, scratched paint, etc. This, my first Samsung, so far looks to be the only one I’ll need.
The type of finish that the Spectre has is a bit rougher (or rather a more matte-like finish), compared to the Spin. My palms slide around with more ease on the palm rests of the Spin. I’m not sure how to put it into words, but the Spin’s case simply feels very silky smooth to the touch. The chromed sides are a very nice addition as well, much like what the Spectre has. Tablet mode feels better than on the Spectre, but the Spin is not as light as the Yoga 900, so the Yoga wins here.
And then we have what was my biggest issue with the Spectre: the palm rest. Happy to report that the palm rest on the Spin does not get hot or even warm. I had 14 Chrome tabs open, while I installed various apps and there was no warmth on deck. The bottom rear became warm but NOT hot at all, ever so far. I didn’t notice the fan kicking in while all of those tabs were open or when watching a YouTube video to test, for about 10min. Actually, what I’m noticing now, over the sound of my TV, is that the Spin fan is humming away at a very low speed, thus it can hardly be heard, so it may have been on at other times earlier and I just didn’t notice it.
Also I was very happy to see that the Spin (unlike the larger ATIV 15.6″) has no vents on the bottom. Just front corner speaker grills (speakers are much better/louder than the Spectre). That matters to me because it means I never have to worry about placing the device directly on a pillow, blanket, carpet, etc. The vents are in the back, just like on the Yoga, though not as hidden.
The vents are placed between the two screen hinges
Update: A friend saw my Spin and she demanded we go to Best Buy to get one for her. She had been looking at the Macbook Air, but after 5 min on my Spin, she was sold! After setting up her Spin, I can see that out of these two units, the quality control is looking good. Both have zero visible defects, scratches or dents/dings.
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard feels more like on the Spectre (which I liked). I am able to type better and it just feels nicer to tap these keys rather than the ones the Yoga has.
I’ve typed all of this on the Spin and again, I really like this keyboard. I have never used the XPS 13, so I can’t compare it to that. All I can say is that I like it much better than the Yoga 900 and a little better than the Spectre. Speaking of the XPS 13, I can’t help but think of this as being XPS 13-like, but with tablet/tent mode. Maybe it’s just the huge bezels of the Yoga 900, but for some reason, in-person, the Spin appears to me to have a fairly thin bezel.
I appreciate the fact that the keyboard’s backlighting turns off when you don’t use the keyboard for a short while and then instantly comes back on as soon as you touch it or move the mouse or touch pad.
Speaking of the touch pad. Both the Spectre and Yoga have touch pads that would make noise/move at even the slightest tap, as if loose/broken. No such issue here. You can do soft taps on the touch pad, and there will be no clicking sound unless you push hard enough to make a left or right click along the bottom half of the touch pad.
The Spin’s keyboard is excellent
Later Update: I have fallen in-love with this keyboard. It is a pleasure to use and feels great. The touch pad is the best Windows touch pad I have ever used. 2 finger scrolling works perfectly in every app that I have tried. I am not a touch pad person, as I always use a wireless mouse, but this one is one is great and I’ll probably use it for flights and any other tight places. And as mentioned before, this touch pad does not rattle on soft taps, like the Yoga’s and Spectre’s do.
I thought the Spin had USB-C, but according to the Samsung site, it appears that only the ATIV Book 9 Pro has it. This was sad news, but due to all of the other things I love about this notebook, I am willing to forgive it. I am still not sure about whether or not the Spin has an active digitizer.
Screen
The screen is very beautiful, more so than the one on the Yoga 900. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I have come to realize that the Yoga’s screen does not look as pleasing to the eye as the Spectre’s or the Spin’s. This is one of those things I can’t put my finger on. I’m not talking about the actual resolution, rather I think perhaps it may be the type of glass/materials used to make the screen. For some reason, the Yoga’s display looks cheaper.
Samsung has done the best job with scaling. I had not even noticed it right away. After a few days of use I realized that every app that had looked way too small on the Spectre and Yoga looks much better on the Spin. Revo Uninstaller, Vuze, Dashlane are some of the apps that had scaling issues on the others, and all look great on the Spin.
The screen is very bright
Also, the screen, as advertised, can be set very bright, which leads me to believe that it can probably do better in bright sunlight than the other two.
The display driver has crashed twice so far. It instantly restarts and causes no interruption to usage. That happens on the Yoga as well.
One more thing, when I first turned on the Spin, as it was loading, I noticed a yellow tint on the screen, coming from the bottom right corner (right above where Windows 10 clock loads up). It goes away after Windows gets to the desktop. I don’t know what this is and whether or not it is an issue. I had read in the past about people having issues with some brands with regards to some kind of back light issue. It is just a bit annoying to see this every time the system loads up, but if it is like this on all Spin units, then I will live with it. If not, then I guess I’ll have to do an exchange which will annoy me most of all because it will mean having to switch my purchased 512GB SSD into another Spin unit.
Performance and daily use
Performance is fast and pretty much the same as the Spectre and Yoga, which was expected, given they share the same specs.
One more thing that I like is that the Spin is very easy to open up. No need to use a Torx screwdriver as the screws are just regular Philips screws. I unscrewed the bottom and it lifts right up (no clips or sliding).
Now here is where I feel like a fool. I had purchased the Samsung 1TB 850 Pro SSD, thinking that it would fit this laptop. I have since learned about the type of SSD drives many of these ultrabooks use. So I found the right type, at a local store and picked that up this morning. It’s the same 512GB SSD that comes in the Yoga 900. Once again, very easy to install it into the Spin. I had a little bit of trouble cloning the original Spin SSD partitions to the new one, because I don’t have external connectors and cables. I ended up exporting the Samsung recovery partition, to a UBS stick and with a Windows USB boot disc, I was able to reinstall Windows and all of the Samsung drivers and apps on the new SSD.
BTW, Samsung also wins the award for least amount of bloatware. Norton and Skype are the only two apps that I ended up deleting.
Issues: After I reinstalled Windows on the 512GB SSD I installed, my Logitech MX revolution mouse looses connection each time I have to restart Windows. I hope to find a solution soon, as it’s driving me crazy and I am a wireless mouse kinda guy.
Update: I still have the issue with my Logitech wireless mouse when I restart the system, the mouse says connected, but it will not move. This only happens on restart. It doesn’t happen from waking from sleep or starting from powered off/shutdown.
One more thin I should add is that unlike with the Spectre, I have had zero Wi-Fi connection issues with this Samsung. The Spin does have a different wireless adapter than the other two, which both use Intel, while this one uses a Qualcomm Atheros.
Battery life
Battery life, is the only thing that I would consider to be not that great. Radios on, Chrome browsing, 20% brightness, yields between 6 and 7 hours so far as tested in the middle power management setting.
Samsung include a very lightweight and small power brick, along with it’s very thin cable, leading up to the laptop port. The power brick has a small blue light on it. I also like the power button on the Spin. On the Yoga, just by picking it up, I kept accidentally pressing its power button and sending the unit to sleep. The Spectre has the best power button of the three, as it is hardest to press, but the Spin’s is almost there as well.
Something else that I noticed and liked is that when you power off the Spin while it’s plugged in, the screen will display a 2-inch green animated battery icon and text telling you how long until the battery is fully charged.
Wrap up
Other than the issue with my mouse and the 6 to 7 hours of battery, this device is just about perfect. The hinges are small and move with ease, but also feel solid. The fan has kicked on many times, but was never too loud.
So far I feel like I’ve found the right ultrabook for my personal and business needs.
Update: I’m still loving everything about the Spin, other than the 6 to 7 hours of battery life. I like the design and feel so much that I considered upgrading to the 15.6-inch version, but then I figured I’d maybe not like the extra 2 pounds and that perhaps I’d have heat issues with the dedicated graphics card and Quad i7 CPU.
I also figured that if I were willing to move up to 15-inch, then I might as well go with the XPS 15 which has better specs than the Samsung, for the money (16GB RAM vs 8GB, 1TB SSD vs 256GB SSD and more). I did look into it and even read the XPS 15 forums. It seems that people are only getting 5 to 6 hours of battery on the new 4K XPS 15.
So after rethinking it all, I’m going to stick with the Spin and just purchase a high-res external display for when I’m in my home office and want a bigger screen.
After all of this, I would say that the Spin and x360, are the overall best 2-in-1’s currently on the market.”
Andrei: Thanks Ash for your detailed impressions.
From what Ash is saying, it looks to me Samsung did a great job with this computer. There’s no surprise the build quality is top notch and the touchpad is very good. The previous ATIV Books had some shallow keys and problems with high temperatures, I’m glad this isn’t the case here anymore.
Personally, I’m astonished by how long this thing can last from only a 39 Wh battery. If anyone else owns the Spin and can share some details on battery life, that would be great.
Compared to the Lenovo Yoga 900, the Spin is a better built machine and gets a superior keyboard. It’s not available with 16 GB of RAM though and it’s more expensive.
Compared to the HP Spectre x360, the Spin is more compact and lighter, seems to rn a bit cooler and not encounter any Wi-Fi issues, but at the same time it lacks a digitizer, which could be a deal-breaker for some of you.
AG
November 30, 2016 at 6:00 pm
A baby-boomer female here, who has been following this review site for a while. I am not a techie, but I have come to really appreciate the level of reviews you produce. Currently in the market for a home/small business budget-friendly laptop to last about 3yrs. Although I haven't made a final decision, I am clearer on what my long term needs are!!!!
Thank You for your honest and relatable reviews.
Mike G
November 24, 2016 at 4:40 pm
This is a great thread because it's discussing most of the laptops I've been looking at and coming to similar conclusions. My biggest difference with the consensus here is that the Samsung Notebook 9 Spin is still at the top of my list even though it's a year old and due for a refresh that may never come (if rumors of Samsung's future commitment to laptops and 2-in-1's being questionable are true).
I have a new Spin 9 next to me right now–still in the box unopened. Just rechecking a few more online comments and deals first. After spending a lot of time online and with Best Buy demo units, I just can't see anything else beating the Spin 9's build and display quality. The 6th gen i7, no 512 GB SSD or 16GB RAM option, lack of thin bezels and no USB-C port are not quite enough to push me to the new Yoga 910, HP Spectre x360 or ASUS Q324 with their glassy displays and marginally less impressive build quality. For Black Friday, the Spin is only $1,049.99 too which helps make up for it being a year old. Still, I haven't opened the box yet after 4 days so you can see how tough this decision is!
Andrei Girbea
November 24, 2016 at 5:17 pm
I wasn't aware of the Q324UA, thanks. Looks like a BestBuy exclusive variant of the Zenbook UX360UA that's available in Europe.
As for your decision, at the end of they day a laptop is meant to satisfy your needs and stick withing your budget. If the Spin does that for you, just use it :)
The Kaby Lake vs Skylake debate is imo not enough to justify choosing one of the newer options, since the differences between the two platforms are mostly minor. The storage is upgradeable later on, if more space will be needed, so this isn't a problem either. That leaves you with the 8 GB of RAM (enough for daily use), the lack of TB3 and what I consider to be the only potential deal breaker for the Spin, the smaller battery compared to the competition.
Mike G
November 25, 2016 at 1:39 am
Exactly. And 5-7 hours battery life is fine for me since 90% of the places I'll be have power outlets nearby. My biggest fear is Samsung releasing a new Spin 9 with all our concerns addressed shortly after I start using the current model lol.
BTW, what is TB3?
Mike G
November 25, 2016 at 1:45 am
Never mind. I noticed the link to a list of laptops with Thunderbolt 3 (TB3) literally seconds after my last post. :]
Andrei Girbea
November 25, 2016 at 9:50 am
Noticed this other comment after replying to the first one :P
Andrei Girbea
November 25, 2016 at 9:49 am
TB3 is Thunderbolt 3, a newer type of port, I've added some info about it at the end of this post: https://www.ultrabookreview.com/10579-laptops-thunderbolt-3/
Justin
November 13, 2016 at 9:16 pm
Ace01,
Will you do a x360 (2016) vs yoga 910 vs samsung spin 9 (albeit year older) write up?
I was about to pull the trigger on spin, but since it seems that samsung won't upgrade this, would you suggest I wait for you x360 (2016) vs yoga 910 write up?
weight is my bigesst issue, place x360 last in your previous roundup.. yoga910 weighs 3.10 lbs now (on sale as I type this)..you mention the new x360 weighs less now, but I still see the old weight of 3.2 lbs online.. is this confirmed?
the only way I see buying spin at this moment is if they do a price reduc, around $850 to compete against the newer lenovo/hp models.. do you see this happening, given black friday/cyber monday is around corner?
also an aside, how is the spin's default/unswapped SSD compared to spectre/yoga default ssd in terms of speed?
thanks a ton.
Ace01
November 14, 2016 at 5:20 pm
Hey, Justin! I've not used the Yoga 910 other than a quick 2min test. The Yoga 900's cheapness, turned me off from Lenovo altogether so I wasn't interested in trying the 910 and I'm done purchasing 13" laptops (unless something too good comes along and changes my mind). What I do like about the 910 is that the screen is a little bigger at 13.9" rather than the more common 13.3" displays of other brands. And I have to admit it does look better than the 900. They got rid of the cheap rubberish (I don't care what they call it; it looks and feels exactly like rubber) material along the sides and edges of the unit, giving it a more premium look.
At this point and time, I would not buy the Spin. I would wait until December/January at the latest to see whether or not HP releases a QHD or 4K display for the new Spectre 13" model and then try all of the 13" Kaby Lake laptops that you like and pick one. If I were looking at 13" laptops right now, I'd skip the Spin because as good as it still is, it only has 8GB of RAM and Skylake. The Spin has an awesome QHD (3K) display but now that 4K displays are available on 13" laptops, I would look to those along with at least 16GB of RAM.
Weight being your biggest issue then I would look at under 3 lbs laptops. For me, a 6'1" tall fit guy, I thought the older Spectre was too heavy compared to the Yoga 900 and Spin. The new Spectre (with FHD display) is 2.85 lbs, which is a tiny bit less than the Spin which weighs in at 2.87 lbs. The Spin and it's 2.87 lbs was very good to me. It just felt better than the 3.2 lbs of the old Spectre. If in tablet mode, lighter and thinner both will make a big difference but I never really use any laptop in tablet mode as much as I had hoped/thought I would. Windows 10 is still clunky (think Windows Mobile) when in tablet mode. Nothing is as smooth and as fast as mouse and keyboard.
New Spectre specs: store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/Laptops/hp-spectre-x360—13-w063nr-x7v22ua-aba
Spin specs: samsung.com/us/computing/windows-laptops/12-14/notebook-9-spin-13-3-led-qhd-core-i7-np940x3l-k01us/
The new Spectre is a really nice looking machine, even more so in person. The huge bezels of the old one did take away from the looks. They've resolved that with thinner bezels on the sides and top. The new Spectre is smaller than the old one by what looks like almost an inch when you place the new one on top of the old one. Just very well done and the speakers are better now (still not as good as the Spin. I used the new Spectre at Best Buy for 30min or more. The only downside for now, on the new Spectre, is the FHD display. My eyes are just not happy with anything less than QHD now. If the new Spectre had QHD or even better, 4K now, and I wanted a 13" notebook, then I would go for it and cross my fingers that the left palm rest area doesn't get too hot for me like the old Spectre did.
I never used the Spin with its stock SSD as I switched it out almost right away with a Samsung 512GB SSD that comes in the Yoga 900. At the end of the day, the only slow SSD experience I can recall is that the Yoga 900 took a lot longer to transfer all of my 300GB + files than other laptops I have/used. Funny because the same model SSD that was in that Yoga, is the same one I installed into my Spin and the Spin transferred the files faster (or at least I think I recall it felt much faster to me).
I don't think you'll find the Spin at $850.00 new. The price seems to be holding (I check on it as I still have my Spin and still go back and forth about selling it). Best Buy still has it listed at $1,200.00 new.
Ace01
November 19, 2016 at 6:56 pm
Justin and to anyone else considering the Yoga 910. I just spent a good 45min using the Yoga 910. I'm still not interested in it because 15" notebooks are best for my needs. However, I was wrong in that Lenovo HAS increased the quality of the Yoga. The 910 is made out of what I believe is aluminum or some other type of metal that does feel like metal this time around. The rubber of the Yoga 900 along the sides, is long gone. The 13.9" screen does feel bigger than the 13.3" Spin screen. The only downside is that the 910 weighs more and in tablet mode it does not feel as good as the 900 did.
The unit felt just as fast as other units such as the Spin, x360 etc. The screen section of the notebook no longer bends as much as the Yoga 900 could when you place your finger on the left and right corners of the screen.
Getting rid of the rubber has given the notebook a more x360 premium look and feel. The trackpad is also much better than the Yoga 900. I didn't try all of the features but the trackpad does have a lot of gesture options (more than the Spin and other Windows notebooks that I've tried). I'd say that the trackpad felt very nice and smooth just like the Spin touchpad that I love so much.
One downside that I noticed is that the unit does get loud when in heavy use. Louder than the x360 (older version) and louder than the Spin.
Because of the 4K screen, Kaby Lake, USB type-C, a bit larger screen, I would actually consider (for a 13-inch notebook) the Yoga 910 as #2 or maybe #1 ahead of the new Spectre, IF the build quality held up over more examination. The Spin, being a year old, would have to be last on that list now.
Andrei Girbea
November 21, 2016 at 11:08 am
Why ahead of the new Spectre? I'm hearing a lot of great things about the new 13-inch model and we also have a review that says the same :)
Ace01
December 9, 2016 at 7:09 pm
Hey, Andrei! Sorry, I get kinda of lost in how the comment section works on your site. I'm just now seeing your post.
Well since I last posted about it, I borrowed the new x360 13 that belongs to a friend. I spent a few hours using it and though I like it, I would def choose the Yoga 910 over it now. I can't believe I just said that but without a doubt, I would buy it if I wanted a 13" Windows notebook right now.
Yesterday I spent over an hour shopping at Best Buy. I used the Yoga 910 for about 30 min and it grew on me even more. I picked it up, folded it into tablet mode and even tried to bend the top corners of the screen to see if it was as weak as the 900. Much more solid than the 900. It's also very snappy in everything I opened and ran on it. The screen looks very good though it is glossy (not a problem for me and my taste). The thing that really shined for me is that the Yoga 910 does feel much better with regards to screen real estate. That bump up to 13.9" DOES make a NICE difference. If the Spin had a 13.9" screen with thinner bezels, 16GB RAM and Kaby Lake and USB-C like the Yoga 910, I would have to consider that as my daily driver and only driver.
The Yoga 910 touchpad and keyboard, both feel much better than the Yoga 900 did. It's as if they heard people like me complaining about the 900 and fixed all of those issues. The thin bezel is just about the same as the XPS even though the bottom bezel is very thick but it honestly didn't bother me much at all in-person.
The new Spectre x360 13 with its 1080P screen is just not enough for someone like me who has become so used to QHD and 4K. In my office, I use a 4K monitor and when I get around to editing/viewing 4K media created on my iPhone, having a 4K screen makes things look right/accurate. We all have 4K video on our phones now. Unless you never transfer your phone media to your PC, it makes sense to have high res displays.
Also, I took a few trips where I ended up using my x360 15 a lot. I normally use it almost always, connected to my monitor and use a bluetooth mouse and keyboard. This past month was the first time I really worked the x360 15 hard while not connected to an external keyboard. Sadly, what I soon discovered is that the x360 15 can get hot around the left palm rest area. Just like the old 13" x360 did for me. I now pretty much trust the idea that all HP laptops can get too hot around the palm rest area.
I still have 3 devices but I've committed myself to list 2 of them this weekend. It's crazy how I've come around like this but I'm going to sell the Spin and the x360 15 as quickly as I can. I took my XPS 15 out and booted it up and am now back to using it as my only PC. Even after a year, it's still one of the best and smallest 15" Windows PC around with a quad-core and dedicated GPU. After letting the XPS get the new BIOS update and other updates, the XPS now starts and restarts much faster and wakes and sleeps much faster. Those were all issues I had with it earlier this year.
At Best Buy last night, I tried out the MacBook Pro 15 and placed my XPS next to it . The XPS screen not only looks better because of the higher res, the XPS thin bezel still really outshines just about everything out there. But the body design of the MBP 15 is nicer than that of the XPS to me. The MBP weighs in at almost 1/2 a pound less and it is a bit thinner. The MBP 15 does really his a sweet spot with size and weight. So much so that it's now on my short list of 15 devices to consider in the near future. I don't know if I can be happy without Windows but the MBP hardware (mainly the slim solid construction) has some of my attention. The Touch bar is also not bad as I thought it would be.
Sorry, this post is all over the place. lol! To sum it up, I'm back to using the XPS 15 9550 and nothing else. Selling the x360 15 and the Book 9 Spin. I'll keep and use the XPS until something else pulls me away from it. Microsoft agent at Best Buy last night said that he does not know whether or not HP will update the x360 15 but that he did hear a rumor about HP wanting to add quad-core Kaby Lake to a new x360 15 to come out in Q1 2017. He also stated that he is betting that Apple will release a Kaby Lake option in January for the MBP. So I'll just wait it all out with the XPS and see what comes to market in early 2017. Until then I've ordered the D-Brand touch pad cover for the XPS to help ease my crazy issue with the XPS deck getting too dirty looking too quickly.
Avijit jha
December 13, 2016 at 9:06 am
So finally you do agree that the 910 was worth checking out. Because initially you just dismissed it when I asked
Ace01
December 16, 2016 at 2:22 am
Avijit jha, Yes I was wrong about it as I stated in my updated post. In my defense, that is how cheap/bad the 900 was to me. Did you make a choice yet? If so, what did you choose and how do you like it?
The 910 also uses DDR4 RAM and overall it is ranking higher on performance tests compared to other 13" ultrabooks. I still don't like the big Yoga logo on the back. That still screams "cheap" to me and is now out of place on this 910 that is no longer cheap looking/feeling. I used the 910 again today for about an hour (just to make sure 100% that I don't want one).But again, if a 13" is what people want, they should put the 910, new x360 and Spin on their short list. But there is one pretty bad problem. The fans on the 910 can get pretty loud. I don't know if this happens to everyone but my friends unit is now running the fans almost always and also pretty loud (louder than the x360 and Spin). Trying to help my friend, I found out that some owners are claiming that there is a Lenovo update that is supposed to address the always full blast fans. If that is true then all is good. If not, then the fans will be too much for some people to deal with. I ran into a guy at best Buy today who returned his because of the fans he said. he's now considering the x360 13 and the MBP 13.
BTW' I've now heard 2 Best Buy sales guys state that people sometimes are returning both the Yoga 910 and the new x360 because they realized they are too small for their liking. That pretty much sounds like me. Some people are okay with 13" but I just can't stomach it anymore. I feel way too restricted.
As if anyone cares, but I'm somehow loving my XPS 15 that has pretty much sat unused most of this year. My girlfriend says I have a screw loose for waiting so long to come around to what was sitting in my office collecting dust. Unless the MBP 15 steals me away or unless someone comes out with a thin, Kaby Lake quad-core with 4K display; I'll be sticking with the XPs 15 9550 as my one and only laptop.
When I had no money years ago, it seemed like there were so many laptops I wish I could afford to buy. I thought I would have too many to choose from. Now that I can afford what I want, as of right now, there is only the XPS 15 and the new MBP 15 that interest me enough. I know, I know, I've gone back and forth many times and tried many laptops over the past 2-years.Took me this long to figure out what I don't want.
Avijit jha
December 17, 2016 at 3:22 am
Hi Acer 01.I wasn't trying to be sarcastic .merely reflecting my own confusion. But I have already bought the new Mbp15. Got it from usa ( a lot cheaper) saved approx 550 us dollars. So far I'm loving it. The screen is fantastic. I mean I don't know much about colour gamut etc. But it looks amazing. It may not be 4k like xps 15 but the higher brightness and almost similar colour gamut makes up for it. The speakers are surprisingly good and definitely better than xps. And yes you were right 13 inch just didn't cut it for me. To small for me both for media consumption and other work. As for battery life I'm getting around 7.5 hrs to 8 which again is better than xps 15.will update further. Thx
Tom
November 12, 2016 at 12:11 am
Hi I am looking for a marathon+multitasking performance strong 12-13" laptop. In other words, a laptop with the most minimal possible throttling under stress, especially marathon (48h being on) multitasking (25 surf tabs, outlook, several YouTube tabs, sound forge, excel, word and ev. even photoshop or powerdirecttor simultaneously open). I was thinking of Eliteabook 820 G3, but then moved on to Spectre x360 2016 (Kaby Lake) vs XPS 13 (Kaby Lake) vs XPS 13 (Skylake, FHD or QHD+). With a feeling that XPS 13 (Kaby Lake) might outperform the Spectre x360 2016 in regards to long-duration-use throttling after having read the stress test article sections on the Internet. Just a feeling. I continued searching and found the ATIV Spin 9 (which is a slightly older model than most of my above stated initial candidates. But the ATIV Spin 9 seams to be a sturdy long-durartion-usage performance candidate. Now, I am lost. Which of my candidates would you say, is the most non-throttling laptop under long-duration-heavy-load-and-added-multitasking-load usage; and why so? Thanks much for sharing your experience, thoughts and reflections !
Ace01
November 12, 2016 at 5:02 pm
Hey, Tom! It sounds like the Spin, would not be a good fit for you. It has 8GB RAM and while that might be enough for most users, it will probably not be enough for you and the needs you've described. The Spin needs to be updated but I do not think Samsung is going to do that. They've come out with a fix of all new products.
Personally, I am not sure what would be best for you other than to suggest that you only look at laptops that have at least 16GB of RAM and perhaps a quad-core Skylake i7.
I don't know anything about the machines you've mentioned other than the new x360. The new x360 is very nice and solves some of the issues I had with the last generation, however, the new x360, only comes with FHD display for now. I've been tracking the HP news and it seems to be that a QHD or 4K display may be on its way for the x360 13" model. Personally, I am waiting on the current (which I have) x360 15" to be updated with the new body design of the new 13" model.
After seeing the new MacBook Pro with Skylake, I am no longer considering jumping to Mac. As I'm always saying, for me, the machine has to look good. I hate the design looks of most of the Lenovo laptops and I'm just not too thrilled about the Dell designs (I still have the XPS 15 9550 stored away). Perhaps the XPS 15 might be good for you. It has a lot of power to do the type of things you need it to.
Sorry I can't be of more help to you but perhaps there is something you may like, on the Kaby Lake list here on this site, coming out if not already out.
omri paz
October 31, 2016 at 9:41 am
hey
are they calling the "ATIV book 9 spin", Notebook 9 spin now?
thanks
Andrei Girbea
October 31, 2016 at 9:56 am
There are 2 version of the Notebook 9, one with a touchscreen and one without. The former is the same as the ATIV Book 9 Spin as far as I can tell.
Ace01
October 31, 2016 at 3:03 pm
Omri, yes the ATIV Book 9 Spin is now called the Notebook 9 Spin. There are no changes to the device. Also, the unit never had any words written on it other than "Samsung" on the lid, "Samsung" at the bottom of the screen and tiny serial number/model name on the bottom. Same on the inside and outside.
If you're considering purchasing one, I'd say if you can, you might want to wait a little while. Sadly, Samsung has not updated this model nor their 15" pro model and I have no idea whether or not they plan to do so. HP, Dell, Lenovo and other brands, are all rolling out the updated models with features such as Kaby Lake (7th gen CPU. the Spin has 6th gen CPU) and higher resolution displays.
I went into Best Buy yesterday and saw the updated Spectre x360 13. I used it for about 30min and the palm area didn't get hot while I had it run YouTube videos. The unit looks amazing with the thinner side bezels pretty much just like the Spin. The entire unit is now smaller, lighter and thinner. It weighs as much as the Spin (which is a very good thing). If I needed/wanted a 13" Windows laptop right now, I'd consider the new Spectre an option IF they release a higher res screen soon (right now it's only FHD). Twice as much RAM as the Spin. Kaby Lake CPU. Larger battery. Windows Hello camera. USB Type-C. Along with the new CPU comes a better-integrated graphics as well.
I still love the Spin but if you're going to spend on it, why not spend about the same on something that has newer/better hardware. The Spin has the better display for now (QHD Spin vs FHD new Spectre x360). But I doubt HP is going to let Lenovo and Dell have the resolution crown.
Bob Yarger
September 26, 2016 at 2:36 pm
I have gone around and around on the SSD replacement in my Spin 9 13.3 since I bought it. After talking to Best Buy, Samsung (who offered no real help), and several vendors, the net result I have learned is the SSD in the Spin 9 13.3 is an M.2 2280 SATA SSD,NGFF type. I was told by Samsung technical support that they do not make such a drive, and your review confirmed it was a non-Samsung SSD. I have also looked at the OCZ (Toshiba) drives and found them to be the PCIe drives, not the SATA. The only drive I have found so far that might be a match is the Crucial M550 512GB SATA M.2 Type 2280 Internal Solid State Drive CT512M550SSD4, but Crucial itself is out of stock on that drive at this point.
Are the specs I have above the correct specs you found when you opened the laptop? Best Buy says there are SSD’s out there that are a match but can’t provide specifics. So far, only the Crucial seems to be.
Call me lost, but I would appreciate any clarification. And thanks for the great review. It pushed me to buy this computer.
Ace01
September 29, 2016 at 1:33 am
Hey, Bob! I am assuming that you’ve read the long post I made a while back about how to install a new SSD. If not, please take a look at it above before doing the install. Also please make sure that you purchase the enclosure if you don’t already have one.
M.2 is a physical connector spec. SATA and PCIe are communication protocols. The motherboard controller chip could support one or both protocols (I’m not 100% sure if it supports both).
The Crucial M550 512GB is listed on Amazon for $294.00. I would not buy that because you can get the Sandisk X400 Solid State Drive 1TB from Amazon for $260.00 and YES it does work in the Spin: amazon.com/SanDisk-SD8SN8U-1T00-1122-X400-M-2-SSD/dp/B0194MV300?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
If you have any more questions or would like to consider another SSD, let me know and I’ll try to help.
jeff carl
August 29, 2016 at 8:00 pm
I’ve had my Spin since about February. I had read many comments, mostly here but in a few other places as well. I am perhaps one of the few that is not completely pleased with my machine. Why? you ask…..Well here goes:
1. Battery life is poor. Compared to my old HP Folio 13 less than half. Granted a faster machine with a brighter & higher res screen, but without battery saver mode and dropping screen brightness you don’t get much working time. 2. The charger plug-in is a 3mm banana type and at a scant 3mm (1/8″) it is very weak & can be broken very easily. For a machine built to carry around it needs a more robust connector. 3) It has started making very (very) loud fan noise. People had barked about the fan on the HP Folio, but that was a scant whisper compared to Sammy. My wife was sitting across the living room the other evening when she looked over and said “What is THAT?” Well it’s pretty loud to be heard across the room. It’s been doing that for a couple months now. 4) The speakers have a distorted sound now, like high school kids over boosting the car radio. It is not pleasing to listen to anymore. This happened fairly early on.
Otherwise it’s OK. It is fast, it’s light weight, and the screen is bright. Other than that, I’m not all that impressed anymore.
I replaced the HP Folio because the SDD was failing. I’m replacing the SSD so I can wipe sensitive data off Sammy & send him for a make-over. I hope it’s a 1 year warranty, anybody know about warranty? Anybody have any similar issues? I may just keep the old Folio 13 once it’s fixed. I believe it to be the best machine I’ve ever had in probably 30 years of computer use. BTW, my computer us is mostly business. At work all day every day, and then surfing or doing a movie in the evening. Mr Folio seemed to stay the course better than Sammy.
Ace01
August 30, 2016 at 2:23 am
Jeff, I’m sorry that you’ve not had a good experience with your Spin. I always mention to people that the Spin does not have a long battery life at about 5 to 6 hours max. Keeping the brightness down to 20-25% helps A LOT. So does using Edge rather than Chrome but I personally love Chrome because of the extensions I use. Then again, on all of my notebooks, I keep the brightness down to around 25% if I’m away from an outlet for long.
Personally, I like the charger because it is very light and small. I’ve had my Spin since they came out last year and the charger feels as solid as it did the day I first used it (I did a lot of plugging and unplugging too). The L-shape of the cord is what I like because it means that you don’t have a longer piece sticking out like you do with the XPS. Your feeling about the spin plug, is exactly how I feel about the XPS 9550 plug.
Wow! You are the first person I have ever heard say they aren’t happy with the speakers. I don’t know if you have a bad unit or if my ears are just that easy to please but the speakers in the Spin are the best I’ve heard in any ultrabook to date. What you’re describing, does not sound normal to me.
Now, the loud fan sound you mention. I am assuming what you mean is a loud humming,buzzing sound that sounds almost like a piece of cardboard against the fan blade? If so then yes that is something that I have now heard of happening to some people. It is not normal and I would send it in or you can try this fix that someone posted on another forum:
“My spin 9 has a rattling noise fan. Here is the fix.
Step 1 remove the back panel and unscrew all the screws on the fan.
Step 2: Lift up the fan (don’t worry the fan and heatsink are separate
Step 3: Notice there are 2 black stick foam on top of the copper bar (yellow color), remove the foam and cut half of it away
Step 4: Stick the other half on to the outlet of the fan where the wind comes out.. the part where it connect to the copper bar. By placing a foam, in between the fan outlet and the copper bar, it effectively stop the fan from touching the copper bar. It also stabilize the fan.
Step 5 put back the fan and make sure the the gap between the fan and the yellow bar is separated by the foam sticker.
Step 6: Screw back everything and run some intensive apps. You should hardly hear the fan spinning now. In intensive gaming mode, you will hear wind whoosing by the vent instead of fan spinning sound.\
Step 7: congrats, the spin 9 is as quiet as a surface pro 4 now. Almost inaudible when fan is moving.
Another note, use Adguard software, you will notice that the fan spin less as it blocks all ads pop up from browser. The ads cause the fan to spin like crazy. Another way is to disable flash in Edge or Chrome. Fan don’t spin now even with 10 tabs on with 1 tab streaming 4K video.”
avijit jha
August 29, 2016 at 8:11 am
Hello ace01. Thx as always for ur replies. I have another query. The spin has an anti glare coating and not an actual matte display. So is there a bit of graininess to the display or is it not noticeable. Also have u checked out toshiba radius 12 and xps 12. If so could u compare their displays to the spin. Thx.
Ace01
August 29, 2016 at 6:05 pm
I’m sorry but I’m not sure what you mean by “graininess to the display.” As I’ve mentioned in above comments, I have been very happy with the Spin display for a QHD display.
I have not checked out either of the two ultrabooks you mentioned. As I’ve stated before, my daily machine is now the HP Spectre x360 15-inch. I love the Spin but I wanted a bigger screen and the 15-inch Samsung ATIV Pro, is built well just like the Spin but falls short in some areas. So I choose the x360 15. I am 6’1″ tall and I use my ultrabook often connected to my 24″ monitor and so when I’m away from the monitor, 13 inches is a bit too small for my taste.
avijit jha
August 29, 2016 at 6:10 pm
Hi i mean a softness or milkiness due to antiglare coating
Ace01
August 30, 2016 at 1:51 am
Avijit jha, I’m still not following you, but again, to me, the screen is very nice indoors or outdoors. I’d say it is one of the best QHD displays I’ve tried, along with the QHD on the 13 inch x360.
avijit jha
August 30, 2016 at 1:36 pm
Hi ace01.thx once again for ur detailed replies. I just hv one more query for now. Im basically looking for a 2 in 1 which looks grt is light with great screen and speakers. Ive narrowed it down to the spin and radius.personally from wht ive seen on the net the radius looks better although with inferior built quality. And it possibly has the best display on an ultrabook. Technicoloir certified. I know that u have not personally seen the device but if and when u do get to check its specs could ugive me ur (expert) feedback. Would really appreciate it.
Andrei Girbea
August 30, 2016 at 2:12 pm
Hi Avijit. Please write your replies in proper English, so we can actually understand what you’re saying, otherwise I’m not going to approve any more of your comments. Thank you.
Ace01
October 9, 2016 at 3:05 pm
Avijit, you asked me what I thought about the new Yoga 910. I answered your questions based on my thoughts of the Yoga 900 because I have not seen the 910 nor do I have any interest in it. As I explained to you earlier, I no longer even look at anything less that 15″ laptops.
The Yoga 900 was built with cheap parts. From the SSD to the RAM, the Yoga 900 was made on the cheap. The Yoga 900 is made out of a thin magnesium alloy that feels like plastic. The new 910 is also made out of magnesium alloy. Will it be the exact same magnesium alloy used in the 900? I’m willing to bet it will be the same. I also have little doubt that the 4K display will also be inferior to those of other manufacturers. The Yoga line is their bread and butter product and they have a sale formula that has worked out pretty well for them.
When I decided to try the 900. I was at Best Buy and a Lenovo rep happened to be there, setting up the demo 900. I had a Spectre x360 in my hand that I was returning. He asked me how much I paid for it and he said “you could have got al of that for less with us. We are beating everyone on price.” Hee was right. They are doing so by adding cheap parts. The 900 not only feels like plastic, it also is lined with rubber. Lots of rubber. As for the 910:
“The Yoga 910 features a redesigned keyboard, a larger trackpad, a 13.9-inch 4K display surrounded by a thinner bezel, a fingerprint scanner, and an aluminum magnesium alloy case with a rubberized inlay. And Lenovo says it has up to 15.5 hours of battery life, using the latest Intel Kaby Lake Core i series chips up to Core i7. A headphone jack is onboard, along with USB-C connectivity. The laptop starts at $1,299 and becomes available in October.”
venturebeat.com/2016/08/31/lenovo-launches-yoga-910-convertible-laptop-yoga-book-with-keyboard-you-can-draw-on/
Ace01
September 29, 2016 at 1:06 am
Hey Avijit, sorry I’m just now getting back to you. it’s been a very busy September.
Personally, I’m not a Toshiba fan. I can’t recall ever really liking any of their designs. I don’t know anything about the XPS 12 or the Radius 12 that you mentioned. I just looked at the Radius 12 at Bestbuy.com and amazon.com. I suggest that you take a good look at the customer reviews of it on amazon and best buy. At 4K, you are going to have a higher resolution display than the QHD Spin screen.
If this is your main PC and you don’t plan on using an external monitor, I would not go for a 12″ display from any brand. But that’s just me.
avijit jha
September 30, 2016 at 2:48 am
Hi ace01. Thanks again . How about the upcoming yoga 910. Do you think it will address all the shortcomings of yoga 900 regarding built quality and display.
Ace01
October 6, 2016 at 7:10 pm
avijit jha, In the past I had mentioned that the Yoga 900 was made out of plastic. After I purchased one from Best Buy, I removed the bottom panel and held it in my hands. I assumed that it was plastic. It felt like plastic to me. It looked like plastic to me. But in reality, it is actually a Magnesium alloy which is “mixtures of magnesium with other metals (called an alloy), often aluminum, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium.” The key ingredient for me is “silicon.” Which is what I think they must have a lot of in there, giving it that plastic feel.
As I mentioned in the past, it appears to be that the Yoga line is made as cheaply as possible in order to keep the price down for the specs you get for that price. The hardware specs when I bought it, were at a lower price than most competitors (16GB RAM rather than 8GB, etc. in the same priced 13″ x360 at the time).
I don’t know about their other models but the Yoga line to me is Kia. Gets the job done very well but just feels cheap. The lint under the top coat of paint on several units (a few other people on the Lenovo forum stated the same issue), is just not right. $1,500 and you should at least get paint that was done right. And then there was my other issue that made me feel like I was holding a baby that I had to be very careful with; the entire screen bending if you push lightly on the top left and right corners of the display. I don’t think they will change any of that, anytime soon because it has worked out very well for them. The Yoga sells well and I’m sure it will continue to do so.
It sounds like you are still hunting for the perfect laptop. There is no such thing. Take it from someone like me who is addicted to new tech. There will always be something new and better, every 6 to 12 months. I’m already planning on buying the updated 15″ Spectre x360 with the 7th gen i7 as soon as they are out. Which should be in October or November? I see that HP already has some 7th gen laptops out: store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/business-solutions/hp-probook-450-g4-notebook-pc-%28energy-star%29-y9f96ut-aba
If I were you, I’d keep waiting another month or two if you can. Get yourself something with Kaby lake (Intel 7th gen CPU – i7 rather than i5 if you can) and at least 16GB of RAM with a 4K display and that should keep you good to go for several years if need be.
Sadly, Samsung is doing things that just don’t make sense to me. They had a nearly perfect laptop with the Spin. It just needs a bigger battery, 16GB RAM, 4K rather than 3K display and 7th gen Intel CPU and it would still be my top pic for a 13″ Windows laptop. But it looks like Samsung has released a bunch of new laptops, with each model having something that another model should have but doesn’t. The good looks go to Pro/Spin models. The larger but thin body goes to the model with only a 1080p display. The more than 8GB of RAM can only be had on the non-Pro/Spin models. It’s a joke! They went from good looking laptops to boring/ugly new models coming out now.
Ace01
October 6, 2016 at 7:18 pm
I guess I’m not alone. Here is what another review states:
“The Yoga 900 build is well built throughout, too. The lid and underside are made from a magnesium alloy, which looks a lot like aluminum and is very strong, but has a touch that some mistake for plastic. Still, the application here still feels pretty metallic”
pcadvisor.co.uk/review/laptops/lenovo-yoga-900-review-3635761/
However, I still can’t get over how so many reviews say that the Yoga is well-built. That is why I am grateful that I can test some devices in stores or return them without a restocking fee because there are a lot of reviews I know now that I can’t trust. Also when seeing the ratings left by people who have bought a device, it may or may not help me because as I see the Yoga 900 has a lot of 4 and 5-star ratings. But I suspect that they are coming from a lot of people who may have been used to an old PC from many years ago and or they just have not tried something that is actually built well. I would say the Yoga 900 is designed well but it is not built well. It’s as if all of the engineering went into the watchband hinge and then the rest was just a cheap afterthought.
avijit jha
October 9, 2016 at 9:20 am
I agree with you regarding samsungs policy. But i was speaking about the new upcoming yoga 910 not 900. It has a metal frame and 4 k screen
Andrei Girbea
August 29, 2016 at 6:12 pm
Hi Ash. I didn’t know you switched to the 15-inch Spectre. It’s not available over here and we don’t have a post about it on the site, so if you have the time and don’t mind writing a few words about it that I could post into a separate article, I’m pretty sure many users would find that useful. And BTW, thank you for your constant replies to the comments here, I really appreciate that.
Ace01
August 30, 2016 at 2:04 am
Hey Andrei! You’re welcome and no problem. I will be leaving for vacation (10 days) tomorrow afternoon but if not tomorrow, when I get back, I will try do a write-up and take some pics of the units together, along with the XPS 9550 that I still have yet to list on ebay (too worried that the price will be too low and then I’ll feel the pain).
The XPS is much more powerful but I prefer the x360 15 for my needs. About half a pound lighter than the XPS 9550 and exactly the same thickness of the x360 13 inch. The display for some reason, looks better to my eyes and overall, the design, right down to the lighter silver paint; makes the x360 in-person, look much nicer to me.
Andrei Girbea
August 30, 2016 at 7:37 am
No rush. Thank you and enjoy your vacation ;)
djvardell
August 24, 2016 at 10:19 pm
Thank you Ace01. I am experiencing only a black screen when I open the Spin. The words appear in white on it as usual–time and date in the bottom left corner, and “Like what you see?” in the top right corner, along with a couple of items in the top left and center that promote Cortana. This occurred around roughly the same time as the Graphics Driver and Wireless LAN Driver update, although at about that same time I installed Webroot for antivirus protection, so I was wondering if the Webroot firewall was causing the problem.
Ace01
August 25, 2016 at 6:17 pm
Hello and you are welcome. I have confirmed the issue based upon my usage. After a full system factory reset, I installed all of the apps I had on the unit before and let Windows do its updates as well as did all of the Samsung updates other than the Graphics Driver 20.19.15.4483 and Wireless LAN Driver 12.0.0.262. Ran it all day and had no problems. Then I installed the Wireless LAN Driver 12.0.0.262 and had no problems after about 6 hours of letting the system run, play videos, etc. Then after installing Graphics Driver 20.19.15.4483 and letting the system sit for a while, the screensaver kicked in and then BSD and then the system restarted.
I had BSD’s on the XPS until I found a NVIDIA driver update that fixed the problem. I’m sure that Samsung or Intel will release an update soon that will take care of this problem. Samsung has been very good with pushing out updates to the Spin via the included Samsung update app and so I can’t be too upset over this.
Most users probably had no problems before the update but for me I had an issue because anytime I use the Spin, I have it connected to a Dell 24″ 4K display via HDMI. Upon waking from sleep, the Spin will forget my settings and show the display on both the Spin and on the Dell monitor even though I have set Windows to only use the 2nd display (external monitor). The new update had fixed that issue but now that I’m back to the older driver, that issue has returned.