The Galaxy Book 2 Pro is one of the laptops Samsung recently launched as it returned to the India’s PC market. It weighs merely 870 g, which makes it the lightest among laptops in the segment – and even otherwise. Besides, with a waistline of just 11.2 mm, it is also one of the thinnest laptops. Apart from the thin-and-lightweight design, it is the top-notch hardware that the Galaxy Book 2 Pro has going for it. It is among a few laptops in India with Intel’s latest 12th-Gen Core processors (review unit: Core i7-1260P), paired with 16 GB of RAM. The laptop is Intel Evo platform certified with fingerprint scanner for Windows Hello login. It boots the Windows 11 Home operating system loaded with several Samsung apps for comprehensive ecosystem experience, if you have the supported Samsung smartphone, tablet, and audio accessories.

Starting with design, the 13.3-inch screen variant (review unit; there is also a 15.6-inch screen variant available) of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro has ergonomics similar to a high-end tablet with keyboard cover attached. It is a portable laptop that is easy to carry around and convenient to use. Speaking of convenience, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro has most of the ports one uses on a regular basis – 1 x HDMI, 1 x Thunderbolt 4, 1 x USB-C, 1 x USB 3.2, 1 x microSD card reader, and 1 x headphone out/mic-in combo jack. That said, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro seems to be designed on the principle of ‘form follows function’ and not ‘form over function’.

Complementing the form factor is the 13.3-inch fullHD+ AMOLED screen of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro. It stretches on all sides, leaving minimal display bezels. However, the screen has a conventional 16:9 aspect ratio that leaves a sizable bezel on the bottom side. A 16:10 aspect ratio screen would have been a better fit here from both design and utility perspective, but it is what it is. Nevertheless, the screen is good. It is bright, thus, easy to read in bright outdoor conditions, and has an anti-glare film to reduce external light reflections for a comfortable experience. The screen is HDR compliant and boasts excellent contrast, both of which make a noticeable difference in everyday use, especially while watching videos. Moreover, the system-wide dark mode works better here simply because whites and blacks appear as they should – thanks to wide colour coverage of a 10-bit screen panel.

On top of the screen, in a thin display border, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro has its 1080p resolution camera. Powered by Samsung Studio mode, this camera is a delight to use for video conferencing purposes. The Samsung Studio mode supports most of the video conferencing platforms. It enables background effects, artificial face enhancements, and auto framing even on platforms that do not natively support.

It is easy to use and works well.

As for the audio, there are two bottom firing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. The speakers output is good and balanced, but their overall loudness is on the muted side. Therefore, they are unusable in environments with loud ambient noise. For the input, there are two front facing microphones. They are good but ultra-sensitive. Thanks to built-in noise cancellation tech, the microphones work best in most environments -- insulated or loud ambient noise.

Coming to the keyboard, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro has a full-sized backlit one with well-spaced distance between keys and modest key travel for tactile feedback. It does not take much time to get comfortable with the keyboard because Samsung did not tinker with its layout, and for better. Likewise, the touchpad is comfortable to use. It is modestly sized and supports Windows 11 gestures.

With regard to performance, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro has no issue except thermals. It handles most tasks well, but warms up significantly on the bottom side even when used for basic operations. Therefore, the laptop needs constant breaks to work optimally. Otherwise, it starts to throttle the performance. That said, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro is capable of handling power tasks, be it processor or graphics intensive. However, due to thermal issues, it makes a better supplementary device and an underwhelming primary laptop for graphics and processor intensive jobs.

Compensating for the thermal issues is an excellent on-battery and charging time. As a supplementary device used for basic everyday tasks such as intermittent video conferencing, writing, browsing web, etc. the laptop’s battery easily lasts around a week. As a primary device used extensively for almost everything, the battery keeps up for one full day on a single charge. Charging time is quick and the supplied USB-C charger (65W) takes around two hours to power up the completely drained-out battery.
Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro: Specifications

    Screen: 13.3-inch fullHD AMOLED, 60Hz, 16:9 aspect ratio
    Audio: AKG-tuned stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
    Storage: 512GB SSD
    RAM: 16GB LPDDR5 (soldered)
    Processor: 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P
    Operating system: Windows 11 Home
    Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2x2
    Colour: Silver


Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro is a modestly priced Windows 11 laptop. It punches above its weight in terms of design and performance, yet leaves one asking for more due to thermal issues. Important to note, thermal issues are prevalent in thin-and-light laptop category, especially those powered by 11th and 12th Gen Intel Core processors and the Galaxy Book 2 Pro is no exception. On other parameters, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro not just meets expectations but also exceeds in some cases. It has a sturdy build, dazzling screen, good backlit keyboard and touchpad, host of I/O ports, and top-notch connectivity.

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Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro review: A 'take anywhere, do everything' laptop