Samsung Galaxy Book 2 - Full Review with Pros and Cons

With the ever-emerging market of laptop and saturated market for smartphones, Samsung decided to try its hands on Indian market for its laptops. Have you ever heard of Galaxy notebooks before? Even if you have heard they weren’t as popular, but this time Samsung looks promising. So is the Korean giant ready for the laptop market or it needs more effort to tackle the old players. Let’s find out. To start off, Samsung has introduced over 4 models Starting from just 37k to over 1 lakh+, Today in review we have the Galaxy Book 2, the mid-range model with i7 12th gen.

Build and Quality

To begin with the build and design. To Samsung’s credit, the design and build looks fantastic. Aluminium throughout and even distribution of weight makes it feel like a solid piece of hardware.

It weighs around 1.57 kilos which is on par with most of the laptops having similar sized screen, but with the premium Samsung demands, it should be definitely lighter. The Aluminium finish feels premium but at the asking price, something more is always expected.

Overall, a really elegant looking device which doesn’t push to look apart.

Ports, I/O and Connectivity

Connectivity too remains quite conventional. We get 2x USB Type-C ports which supports charging, 2x USB 3.2 for faster data transfer and a single HDMI port and a single SD card slot.

The Galaxy Book 2 comes with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. Though standard, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 could have been provided. This is surely not how a Premium device should lack basic features.

For where it’s due, Samsung has added plethora of connectivity options for those who use a galaxy device (Smartphone or Tablet). Screen sharing, data transfer all can be done wirelessly through the apps integrated in the device. I would have personally preferred if all Android devices had support.

Also, Galaxy Buds have native support too. Overall, it’s a mix bag.

Input Devices

Keyboard –It is a full-fledged keyboard with additional numeric keypad and backlight support. The white keys may be a problem in the daylight. Travel is fine, the response is also acceptable at this price range.

Touchpad – It is also big enough. But not as big as MacBook. It is precise and easily gets the job done.

The Galaxy Book 2 is equipped with a 720p HD camera. But with 2 mics the sound quality is good enough.

Display

Samsung is known for its displays and it is also one of the largest display manufacturers. This Galaxy Book 2 is equipped with a 15.6″ Super AMOLED display. A Super AMOLED display from Samsung needs no introduction. The display here is simply gorgeous and colours are pleasing to the eyes. We can easily distinguish this display from most of the other laptops. OLED Laptops from Asus are good, but this still this is better.

While the display is great, lack of higher refresh rate bothers a lot if switching from a high refresh rate panel. That said, overall, a quality screen and recommended for display centric buyers.

Performance

The i7 12th gen chips are good and mostly on par with 6 series Ryzen chips. The thermals are in check but extended usage may heat up the Galaxy Book 2 a bit. With that acknowledged, it is important to note that this device is strictly not for gaming. This is a productivity and business laptop hence lack of gaming centric features doesn’t feel like a compromise.

For normal to heavy usage the laptop can handle everything we throw at it. For photoshop and video editing this laptop can be a good choice.

Storage

There are 3 different combinations of storage and RAM ranging from 8 GB of RAM to 16 GB and from 256 GB of Storage to 512 GB. The read write speeds are good and hence booting time is also less.

Speakers

There’s a 2x 2W stereo speaker setup. This with added Dolby Atmos support produces good sound output. Nothing extra ordinary but get’s the job done. Good bass and treble with stereo surround makes movie watching a good experience.

Battery Life

The Galaxy Book 2 packs in a 54 Wh battery inside which can be charged using Type-C 65 W of charger which is bundled with the laptop. Given the efficient nature of AMOLED displays, this machine lasts easily above 6 hrs which is commendable. 65W is fast but there are way fasters options available for the same price range.

Conclusion

If you are in the market to buy a laptop and your highest priority is Display then go for it. For rest others there are way better options available for the same price or even lesser. The asking price of Rupees 95,000 is no joke and if the Company wants to survive, they should start to offer more.

You may check out the MacBook review here.