Samsung’s slim Notebook 9 line gets a boost

Samsung’s gone the simple route with its latest notebooks — right down to the Notebook 9 name, which likely unintentionally invokes a very Cat’s Cradle vibe. Less than a year after launch, the line’s 13- and 15-inch models are getting a refresh, because the company just couldn’t wait the few extra weeks for CES.

The laptops are getting a new design, one that, from the press photos, at least, looks a bit like a Chromebook that made a wish upon a star to become a full-fledged laptop. It’s a model of minimalist efficiency that includes an extra-thin bezel and a display that swivels back to 180-degrees.

More impressively, the laptops are quite light, with the 13.3-inch version coming in at 1.8 pounds and the 15-incher weighing in at 2.17. Samsung also claims the little notebooks are fairly durable, as well, with thermal and shock-resistant shells. The laptops promise seven hours of battery life (a notable step down from the former promise of 12 hours), coupled with quick charging, which should give users a full charge in 80 minutes.

There’s also a fingerprint scanner and USB Type-C port onboard, along with some souped up processing power with seventh-gen Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, coupled with up to 16GB of RAM. No word yet on pricing and availability, but probably don’t plan on getting one for Christmas this year.