WASHINGTON: Samsung has announced a brand new, 2015 version of its Ativ Book 9 laptop computer, which promises to mount an even larger challenge to Apple’s MacBook Air line.
The new Ultrabook, which’ll be shown off at CES 2015, boasts many of the specs tipped to land in Apple’s rumoured update.
It has a 12.2-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 and has an impressive-sounding outdoor mode, allowing users to bump the brightness up to 700 nits.
It’s also got the new Intel Broadwell Core processors, which enable Samsung to build the model without a fan for the first time. This comes at the expense of a little power, but the fanless model is also expected to be a key spec when Apple launches its update.
At .46-inches thick and weighing in at 2.1lbs it’s thinner and lighter than the 11-inch MacBook Air too.
The Ativ Book 9 will arrive with Windows 8.1 on board in the first quarter of 2015. There’ll be two models; one with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for $1,199 and a second which doubles down on both of those specs for $1,399. We’re waiting on UK prices.
Apple has long been rumoured to launch a 12-inch MacBook Air packing Intel Broadwell chips, a fanless design and a Retina Display.
Samsung, it seems, has beaten its great rival to the punch. We’ll be checking in on the Samsung Ativ Book 9 2015 on the stand at CES, which kicks off in little over a week.
