Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus: Powered by Intel’s latest Dual-Core i5 Haswell processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, the ATIV Book 9 sports a 4 GB RAM, and 128 GB hard drive. After its release last 2013, this powerful ultrabook is still hot in the market when it comes to design, display, and performance.

The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is a powerful lightweight that features a stellar high-resolution touch screen interface, a couple of nifty apps, and a speedy processor. It has definitely become a worthy competition against other laptops like the MacBook Air.

DISPLAY & DESIGN

Its dark and smooth body with soft round corners looks slimmer than it actually is. Although its aluminum body weighs only 3.06 lbs., the ATIV Book 9 feels sturdy enough to be always on the go. This is a huge improvement from the Series 9 which looks too fragile to be moved.

With a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), the 13.3-inch touchscreen display shows crisp, vibrant, and incredibly detailed images that gives a great viewing experience.

PERFORMANCE & OTHER FEATURES

The ATIV Book 9 has the latest perks under the hood. Powered by the latest Haswell processor, this powerful ultrabook runs with Windows 8.1. It opens and resumes from sleep within seconds.

Aside from its quality performance, Samsung boasts of two new features: the SideSync and HomeSync. The first feature lets you pair the ultrabook with other Samsung Android devices and then acts as its second screen. This means that you can even read your text messages from your laptop’s screen. HomeSync, on the other hand, turns your ultrabook into a media server or provider and allows other Samsung devices to access your files. This is the opposite of SideSync.

The two features are not really head turners, but they are still neat perks when you buy the Book 9 Plus

BATTERY LIFE

After the Verge Battery test, the battery life of the Book 9 Plus lasted for 5 hours and 36 minutes. This is an average battery span—a bit of a disappointment considering that nothing has changed from its Samsung predecessors.

Retailing at $1,399.99, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is definitely not a budget-friendly laptop, unlike other Samsung models. But because of its premium features, the cost is somehow acceptable. Still, its direct competition, the MacBook Air, is cheaper by $300.

Aside from the average battery and high price, the ATIV Book 9 Plus shows that Samsung is on the right track when it comes to improving its production of ultrabooks.