Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Review: $3,800 for a Bad Keyboard

Key Takeaways

• At $3,800, the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is just $100 less than a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max
• The Verge gave the keyboard and webcam both a D grade
• The 16-inch OLED display earned an A, the one bright spot in an otherwise mixed review

Samsung wants to sell you a Windows MacBook Pro. The Galaxy Book6 Ultra copies Apple's design so thoroughly that reviewer Antonio G. Di Benedetto says he occasionally hits the wrong keyboard shortcuts out of habit. The problem? Samsung copied the look but botched the execution.

The Verge gave the laptop a 5 out of 10. At $3,800 for the review configuration, that's a painful score.

What you get for nearly four grand

The review unit packs an Intel Core Ultra 7 356H chip paired with an Nvidia RTX 5070 Laptop GPU, 32GB of soldered RAM, and a 2TB SSD. It originally cost $3,200. Then "RAMageddon" drove prices up. Now the same laptop with a smaller 1TB SSD costs $3,800.

For context: a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max, 36GB of memory, and a 2TB SSD costs $3,900. You're paying MacBook Pro prices for a laptop that doesn't perform like one.

The base model starts at $2,900 with a 16-core Core Ultra X7 358H chip and integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics. That's still expensive for a Windows laptop, especially one with the issues The Verge found.

The component report card

The Verge broke down each component with letter grades. The results are uneven.

• Screen: A
• Speakers: B
• Port selection: B
• Trackpad: C
• Keyboard: D
• Webcam: D

There's also a note that buyers will need to remove four ugly stickers, including one hidden underneath the laptop.

The display is the one clear win

Samsung makes some of the best displays in the industry, and the Galaxy Book6 Ultra proves it. The 16-inch, 2880 x 1800 OLED touchscreen is bright and sharp with vibrant colors and perfect contrast. The 120Hz adaptive refresh rate makes motion smooth.

Like a MacBook Pro, the laptop includes Thunderbolt and HDMI 2.1 ports plus an SD card slot. Port selection is solid.

Where Samsung copied Apple's mistakes

Here's the painful part. Samsung didn't just copy Apple's design. It repeated some of Apple's worst historical mistakes.

The keyboard has short key travel. If you remember Apple's butterfly keyboard era, you know why this matters. A bad keyboard on a laptop isn't a minor annoyance. It's something you feel with every email, every document, every line of code.

The webcam is surprisingly poor for a $3,800 machine. The Verge's one-word summary: "bad." There's no Windows Hello facial recognition, though a fingerprint reader is included.

The verdict

The Verge's conclusion is blunt. Samsung wanted to build a Windows MacBook Pro. It got the looks right. It got the build quality right. It even matched the price.

But the things you interact with constantly, the keyboard and webcam, are where Samsung cut corners. At this price point, that's hard to forgive.

“Good artists copy, great artists steal. But what if they botch the robbery?”

— Antonio G. Di Benedetto, The Verge

For $3,800, you can get a MacBook Pro with M5 Max that doesn't have these problems. Or you can find Windows laptops from other manufacturers that cost less and don't force you to live with a D-grade keyboard.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra cost?

The base model starts at $2,900. The review configuration with RTX 5070 and 1TB SSD costs $3,800 after recent RAM price increases.

What score did The Verge give the Galaxy Book6 Ultra?

The Verge gave it a 5 out of 10, citing the poor keyboard and webcam as major issues for such an expensive laptop.

Does the Galaxy Book6 Ultra have Windows Hello?

No facial recognition is included, but there is a fingerprint reader for biometric login.

How does the Galaxy Book6 Ultra compare to MacBook Pro pricing?

At $3,800, it's just $100 less than a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max, 36GB memory, and 2TB SSD.

What's good about the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra?

The 16-inch OLED display earned an A grade for brightness, color, and 120Hz refresh rate. Build quality and port selection are also solid.