×
‘GoldenEye’ is Coming Back to Theaters Next Week

‘GoldenEye’ is Coming Back to Theaters Next Week

Tech-news , ,

We’re not getting a new James Bond movie for a while, but at least we can see an old one in theaters pretty soon. On Friday, October 3, GoldenEye will play in select theaters worldwide, and exclusively at Alama Drafthouse for U.S. audiences.

The re-release serves two purposes: first, October 5 is James Bond Day—Dr. No, the first film in the series premiered on that day in 1962—and GoldenEye itself will turn 30 years old in November. (Beyond the deisgnated holiday, its October date may also be due to November having a stacked movie calendar.) The 1995 film was several firsts for the franchise: it’s Pierce Brosnan’s first Bond movie, the debut of Judi Dench as M, and the first entry to use CGI and not borrow story elements from Ian Fleming’s novels.

GoldenEye got a strong reception at release and made $356.4 million, surpassing the 1980s James Bond films and becoming the fourth highest-grossing movie of 1995. It’s also considered one of the best Bond movies and became the basis for the hit Nintendo 64 game from Rare in 1997, which showed first-person shooters were viable for consoles. In 2022, the game was re-released on Xbox Series X|S (via Game Pass) and Nintendo Switch (via Nintendo Classsics).

While U.S. viewers can see GoldenEye at Drafthouse, we’ve linked the specific theaters for the UK (and two more here and here), Poland, Sweden, and Mexico.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.



Source link
#GoldenEye #Coming #Theaters #Week

Tag

Related Posts

In a new regulatory filing, Netflix revealed that it paid $587 million in cash for InterPositive, a startup co-founded by actor and director Ben Affleck.

The streaming company announced the acquisition in March, with a statement from Affleck saying he wanted to “protect the power of human creativity.” According to Affleck, InterPublic’s AI tools help filmmakers improve their footage in post-production, particularly when it comes to making up for “real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting.”

At the time, Netflix announced that the entire InterPositive team would be joining the company, with Affleck joining as a senior advisor, but it didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal. A subsequent report in Bloomberg suggested that the deal could be worth up to $600 million.

In its most recent earnings report, Netflix said that around 300 of its titles have already used generative AI.

#Netflix #paid #587M #Ben #Afflecks #filmmaking #startup #TechCrunchNetflix,InterPositive">Netflix paid 7M for Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup | TechCrunch In a new regulatory filing, Netflix revealed that it paid 7 million in cash for InterPositive, a startup co-founded by actor and director Ben Affleck. The streaming company announced the acquisition in March, with a statement from Affleck saying he wanted to “protect the power of human creativity.” According to Affleck, InterPublic’s AI tools help filmmakers improve their footage in post-production, particularly when it comes to making up for “real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting.” At the time, Netflix announced that the entire InterPositive team would be joining the company, with Affleck joining as a senior advisor, but it didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal. A subsequent report in Bloomberg suggested that the deal could be worth up to 0 million. In its most recent earnings report, Netflix said that around 300 of its titles have already used generative AI. #Netflix #paid #587M #Ben #Afflecks #filmmaking #startup #TechCrunchNetflix,InterPositive

a new regulatory filing, Netflix revealed that it paid $587 million in cash for InterPositive, a startup co-founded by actor and director Ben Affleck.

The streaming company announced the acquisition in March, with a statement from Affleck saying he wanted to “protect the power of human creativity.” According to Affleck, InterPublic’s AI tools help filmmakers improve their footage in post-production, particularly when it comes to making up for “real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting.”

At the time, Netflix announced that the entire InterPositive team would be joining the company, with Affleck joining as a senior advisor, but it didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal. A subsequent report in Bloomberg suggested that the deal could be worth up to $600 million.

In its most recent earnings report, Netflix said that around 300 of its titles have already used generative AI.

#Netflix #paid #587M #Ben #Afflecks #filmmaking #startup #TechCrunchNetflix,InterPositive">Netflix paid $587M for Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup | TechCrunch

In a new regulatory filing, Netflix revealed that it paid $587 million in cash for InterPositive, a startup co-founded by actor and director Ben Affleck.

The streaming company announced the acquisition in March, with a statement from Affleck saying he wanted to “protect the power of human creativity.” According to Affleck, InterPublic’s AI tools help filmmakers improve their footage in post-production, particularly when it comes to making up for “real-world production challenges such as missing shots, background replacements or incorrect lighting.”

At the time, Netflix announced that the entire InterPositive team would be joining the company, with Affleck joining as a senior advisor, but it didn’t disclose the financial terms of the deal. A subsequent report in Bloomberg suggested that the deal could be worth up to $600 million.

In its most recent earnings report, Netflix said that around 300 of its titles have already used generative AI.

#Netflix #paid #587M #Ben #Afflecks #filmmaking #startup #TechCrunchNetflix,InterPositive
Chromebooks, that help you write documents, study using online tools like YouTube, and don’t cost a bank. One example is the PrimeBook 2 Pro, which features a 14-inch full HD display and runs on the Helio G99 processor. Since you get all that for ₹26,999, I knew I had to test it. I’ve been using the Primebook 2 Pro for the better part of two weeks, and this review should help you decide whether it’s worth it.

Primebook 2 Pro Review

Hisan Kidwai

Summary

The Primebook 2 Pro is a unique machine. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Still, it’s a capable studying machine

Design & Hardware

Primebook 2 Pro Review: The Budget Laptop That Challenges Chromebooks We’re halfway through 2026, and if there’s one thing we’ve all noticed this year, it’s rising tech prices. Everything is more expensive than last year, all thanks to AI, which has scooped up all memory production, driving prices to insane levels. This has almost killed the budget smartphone space, and the same is happening to laptops. Even Apple raised MacBook prices by well over ₹1 lakh in some configurations. Imagine this: you’re a student or a parent, and you need a budget-friendly laptop to complete schoolwork. Maybe it’s completing a project, or studying for the next exam on a bigger screen; you get the point. That’s exactly the problem PrimeBook aims to solve. For the uninitiated, it’s an Indian startup that focuses on making Android laptops, similar to Chromebooks, that help you write documents, study using online tools like YouTube, and don’t cost a bank. One example is the PrimeBook 2 Pro, which features a 14-inch full HD display and runs on the Helio G99 processor. Since you get all that for ₹26,999, I knew I had to test it. I’ve been using the Primebook 2 Pro for the better part of two weeks, and this review should help you decide whether it’s worth it. Primebook 2 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe Primebook 2 Pro is a unique machine. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Still, it’s a capable studying machine Design & Hardware It’s very hard to judge a laptop’s design on such tight budgets because, you know, brands simply don’t have the budget for extensive R&D. While this is what I’ve thought about many of the budget laptops I’ve tested, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is actually designed rather well. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get the premium metal design, but for the price, the plastic build is excellent. The silver color mimics aluminum, which I quite like, and I observed no flex in the chassis, no matter the pressure. The top has a matte finish that looks sophisticated and doesn’t pick up any fingerprints. I could use the laptop in a trendy cafe without looking out of place. Open the laptop, and you’re greeted by the same premium feel, except this time the keyboard deck has a MacBook-esque finish. The lid extends slightly below the chassis, making it easier to open. The hinge, however, isn’t much to write home about. It keeps the screen steady, but I found it to be quite stiff. I always had to use two hands to open the laptop, which is a nitpick. Still, the best part about the PrimeBook 2 Pro is the portability. The 14-inch form factor was perfect for slipping into any backpack, and the 1.38 kg weight was light enough to carry the laptop anywhere. As far as ports are concerned, Primebook hasn’t taken the MacBook route. That’s because you get dual USB-A ports for connecting accessories, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. While I couldn’t find the speeds for the mentioned ports, it’s hard to complain much at this price. Keyboard & Trackpad When making a budget laptop, the keyboard is usually first on the chopping board to cut costs. While I agree with this sentiment, the keyboard is one of the main ways to interact with the laptop, and I’m glad Primebook 2 Pro doesn’t follow the norm. Its keyboard is perfectly fine. There are no highlight features, but, most importantly, no glaring issues. I got used to the layout pretty quickly. The feedback, while not as tactile as my MacBook, was good enough for long typing sessions. There’s an extra row of shortcuts to get home, end task, and scroll the page, all of which were useful during my testing. Where things went south was with the trackpad. First up, its sensitivity is way too high. A small flick raced the pointer from one end to the other when all I was trying to do was click the publish button on an article. The second issue is the gestures. Remember the extra row on the keyboard for page-up and page-down. Yeah, you’d be using that quite a lot since scrolling with two fingers moves the page by just an inch. I tried finding settings to adjust both of these things, but I couldn’t. So keep that in mind. Display & Camera The PrimeBook 2 Pro features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. For the price, it’s pretty serviceable. The text was easy to read, even the smaller fine print. The colors were decent, making it a good experience to watch YouTube. Even the viewing angles were quite good. There was some color shifting when viewed from an angle, but not as much as with TN panels. The anti-reflective coating also did its job well, keeping background reflection at bay. The only complaint regarding the display would be the brightness. It’s not enough to overcome the light on a sunny day inside a brightly lit cafe. The best way I can describe the alleged 1440p webcam is that you can use it for video calls. Don’t expect it to represent how your face actually looks or to have any sharpness, and you’d be good to go. Performance & Battery Inside the Primebook 2 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which, I agree, isn’t the newest kid on the block. It’s paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an unnamed 128GB UFS storage. PrimeOS runs smoothly on the hardware. I could open and close applications reasonably quickly without waiting long. Most of my work happens in Chrome, so I used the laptop for a bit of news writing, along with my usual suite of research tabs. It kept over 10 tabs in memory without stuttering, so I believe studying with the 2 Pro should work out fine. Where I did notice the 4-year-old processor was when running YouTube. The UI loaded quickly and fine, but when I clicked to play a video, there was a brief hitch before it actually played. This was the case with every video I tried playing. The issue became even more noticeable when I opened WhatsApp Web, which I believe many students would. The laptop took a long while loading my messages, and navigating between the different message tabs was a less-than-ideal experience. The PrimeBook 2 Pro is powered by a 60Wh battery. When coupled with the non-flagship internals, the laptop’s battery life is excellent. When working on Chrome, it lasted me two full days of use, with the screen on time hovering around the 9-hour mark. PrimeOS It’s time to talk about PrimeOS. It’s Primebook’s custom Android-based operating system that takes the big-screen Android experience and adds a few desktop-inspired features. It was my first time using PrimeOS, and it’s a decent take. Apps are neatly tucked away into a Finder-like place. The file manager is inspired by both macOS and Windows and does a very good job of organizing files into easily understandable tabs. App support, though, is a bit complicated. Primebook claims you get access to the “entire Android app ecosystem,” but I couldn’t find all the apps. Sure, most of the important apps like PowerPoint, Docs, and others are included, but it’s not a complete list. If you need more apps, you’ll need to request them specifically, which is a bit counterintuitive in my opinion. It’s worth checking that the apps you need are available before buying. Beyond that, since not everything can run on Android, Primebook offers Cloud PC functionality. It lets users emulate Windows or Linux on their laptop, albeit with a fee. Subscriptions start at ₹99 for Linux and ₹499 for Windows. Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to test the functionality during my review period. There is also PrimeCoding, the brand’s own beginner-friendly coding platform. The implementation is simple but useful for beginners learning the basics of programming. Do I see PrimeOS becoming big in the next few years? Yes. Verdict At ₹26,990, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is a unique machine. It’s neither a traditional Windows laptop nor a Chromebook. It’s something in between, and there are a lot of good things about the laptop. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Everything that runs on Android should already be there. Still, the Primebook 2 Pro is a capable machine that, if you’re looking for something to study on, will work just fine and serve you for a few years. #Primebook #Pro #Review #Budget #Laptop #Challenges #ChromebooksChromebook

It’s very hard to judge a laptop’s design on such tight budgets because, you know, brands simply don’t have the budget for extensive R&D. While this is what I’ve thought about many of the budget laptops I’ve tested, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is actually designed rather well. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get the premium metal design, but for the price, the plastic build is excellent. The silver color mimics aluminum, which I quite like, and I observed no flex in the chassis, no matter the pressure. The top has a matte finish that looks sophisticated and doesn’t pick up any fingerprints. I could use the laptop in a trendy cafe without looking out of place.

Open the laptop, and you’re greeted by the same premium feel, except this time the keyboard deck has a MacBook-esque finish. The lid extends slightly below the chassis, making it easier to open. The hinge, however, isn’t much to write home about. It keeps the screen steady, but I found it to be quite stiff. I always had to use two hands to open the laptop, which is a nitpick. Still, the best part about the PrimeBook 2 Pro is the portability. The 14-inch form factor was perfect for slipping into any backpack, and the 1.38 kg weight was light enough to carry the laptop anywhere.

As far as ports are concerned, Primebook hasn’t taken the MacBook route. That’s because you get dual USB-A ports for connecting accessories, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. While I couldn’t find the speeds for the mentioned ports, it’s hard to complain much at this price.

Keyboard & Trackpad

Closeup of the trackpad and keyboard of the primebook 2 pro

When making a budget laptop, the keyboard is usually first on the chopping board to cut costs. While I agree with this sentiment, the keyboard is one of the main ways to interact with the laptop, and I’m glad Primebook 2 Pro doesn’t follow the norm. Its keyboard is perfectly fine. There are no highlight features, but, most importantly, no glaring issues. I got used to the layout pretty quickly. The feedback, while not as tactile as my MacBook, was good enough for long typing sessions. There’s an extra row of shortcuts to get home, end task, and scroll the page, all of which were useful during my testing.

Where things went south was with the trackpad. First up, its sensitivity is way too high. A small flick raced the pointer from one end to the other when all I was trying to do was click the publish button on an article. The second issue is the gestures. Remember the extra row on the keyboard for page-up and page-down. Yeah, you’d be using that quite a lot since scrolling with two fingers moves the page by just an inch. I tried finding settings to adjust both of these things, but I couldn’t. So keep that in mind.

Display & Camera

Closeup of the display showing an image of mount fuji

The PrimeBook 2 Pro features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. For the price, it’s pretty serviceable. The text was easy to read, even the smaller fine print. The colors were decent, making it a good experience to watch YouTube. Even the viewing angles were quite good. There was some color shifting when viewed from an angle, but not as much as with TN panels. The anti-reflective coating also did its job well, keeping background reflection at bay. The only complaint regarding the display would be the brightness. It’s not enough to overcome the light on a sunny day inside a brightly lit cafe.

The best way I can describe the alleged 1440p webcam is that you can use it for video calls. Don’t expect it to represent how your face actually looks or to have any sharpness, and you’d be good to go.

Performance & Battery

A person watching youtube

Inside the Primebook 2 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which, I agree, isn’t the newest kid on the block. It’s paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an unnamed 128GB UFS storage. PrimeOS runs smoothly on the hardware. I could open and close applications reasonably quickly without waiting long. Most of my work happens in Chrome, so I used the laptop for a bit of news writing, along with my usual suite of research tabs. It kept over 10 tabs in memory without stuttering, so I believe studying with the 2 Pro should work out fine.

Where I did notice the 4-year-old processor was when running YouTube. The UI loaded quickly and fine, but when I clicked to play a video, there was a brief hitch before it actually played. This was the case with every video I tried playing. The issue became even more noticeable when I opened WhatsApp Web, which I believe many students would. The laptop took a long while loading my messages, and navigating between the different message tabs was a less-than-ideal experience.

The PrimeBook 2 Pro is powered by a 60Wh battery. When coupled with the non-flagship internals, the laptop’s battery life is excellent. When working on Chrome, it lasted me two full days of use, with the screen on time hovering around the 9-hour mark.

PrimeOS

PrimeOS app store

It’s time to talk about PrimeOS. It’s Primebook’s custom Android-based operating system that takes the big-screen Android experience and adds a few desktop-inspired features. It was my first time using PrimeOS, and it’s a decent take. Apps are neatly tucked away into a Finder-like place. The file manager is inspired by both macOS and Windows and does a very good job of organizing files into easily understandable tabs. App support, though, is a bit complicated. Primebook claims you get access to the “entire Android app ecosystem,” but I couldn’t find all the apps. Sure, most of the important apps like PowerPoint, Docs, and others are included, but it’s not a complete list. If you need more apps, you’ll need to request them specifically, which is a bit counterintuitive in my opinion. It’s worth checking that the apps you need are available before buying.

Beyond that, since not everything can run on Android, Primebook offers Cloud PC functionality. It lets users emulate Windows or Linux on their laptop, albeit with a fee. Subscriptions start at ₹99 for Linux and ₹499 for Windows. Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to test the functionality during my review period. There is also PrimeCoding, the brand’s own beginner-friendly coding platform. The implementation is simple but useful for beginners learning the basics of programming. Do I see PrimeOS becoming big in the next few years? Yes.

Verdict

Closed laptop

At ₹26,990, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is a unique machine. It’s neither a traditional Windows laptop nor a Chromebook. It’s something in between, and there are a lot of good things about the laptop. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Everything that runs on Android should already be there. Still, the Primebook 2 Pro is a capable machine that, if you’re looking for something to study on, will work just fine and serve you for a few years.

#Primebook #Pro #Review #Budget #Laptop #Challenges #ChromebooksChromebook">Primebook 2 Pro Review: The Budget Laptop That Challenges Chromebooks We’re halfway through 2026, and if there’s one thing we’ve all noticed this year, it’s rising tech prices. Everything is more expensive than last year, all thanks to AI, which has scooped up all memory production, driving prices to insane levels. This has almost killed the budget smartphone space, and the same is happening to laptops. Even Apple raised MacBook prices by well over ₹1 lakh in some configurations. Imagine this: you’re a student or a parent, and you need a budget-friendly laptop to complete schoolwork. Maybe it’s completing a project, or studying for the next exam on a bigger screen; you get the point. That’s exactly the problem PrimeBook aims to solve. For the uninitiated, it’s an Indian startup that focuses on making Android laptops, similar to Chromebooks, that help you write documents, study using online tools like YouTube, and don’t cost a bank. One example is the PrimeBook 2 Pro, which features a 14-inch full HD display and runs on the Helio G99 processor. Since you get all that for ₹26,999, I knew I had to test it. I’ve been using the Primebook 2 Pro for the better part of two weeks, and this review should help you decide whether it’s worth it. Primebook 2 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe Primebook 2 Pro is a unique machine. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Still, it’s a capable studying machine Design & Hardware It’s very hard to judge a laptop’s design on such tight budgets because, you know, brands simply don’t have the budget for extensive R&D. While this is what I’ve thought about many of the budget laptops I’ve tested, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is actually designed rather well. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get the premium metal design, but for the price, the plastic build is excellent. The silver color mimics aluminum, which I quite like, and I observed no flex in the chassis, no matter the pressure. The top has a matte finish that looks sophisticated and doesn’t pick up any fingerprints. I could use the laptop in a trendy cafe without looking out of place. Open the laptop, and you’re greeted by the same premium feel, except this time the keyboard deck has a MacBook-esque finish. The lid extends slightly below the chassis, making it easier to open. The hinge, however, isn’t much to write home about. It keeps the screen steady, but I found it to be quite stiff. I always had to use two hands to open the laptop, which is a nitpick. Still, the best part about the PrimeBook 2 Pro is the portability. The 14-inch form factor was perfect for slipping into any backpack, and the 1.38 kg weight was light enough to carry the laptop anywhere. As far as ports are concerned, Primebook hasn’t taken the MacBook route. That’s because you get dual USB-A ports for connecting accessories, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. While I couldn’t find the speeds for the mentioned ports, it’s hard to complain much at this price. Keyboard & Trackpad When making a budget laptop, the keyboard is usually first on the chopping board to cut costs. While I agree with this sentiment, the keyboard is one of the main ways to interact with the laptop, and I’m glad Primebook 2 Pro doesn’t follow the norm. Its keyboard is perfectly fine. There are no highlight features, but, most importantly, no glaring issues. I got used to the layout pretty quickly. The feedback, while not as tactile as my MacBook, was good enough for long typing sessions. There’s an extra row of shortcuts to get home, end task, and scroll the page, all of which were useful during my testing. Where things went south was with the trackpad. First up, its sensitivity is way too high. A small flick raced the pointer from one end to the other when all I was trying to do was click the publish button on an article. The second issue is the gestures. Remember the extra row on the keyboard for page-up and page-down. Yeah, you’d be using that quite a lot since scrolling with two fingers moves the page by just an inch. I tried finding settings to adjust both of these things, but I couldn’t. So keep that in mind. Display & Camera The PrimeBook 2 Pro features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. For the price, it’s pretty serviceable. The text was easy to read, even the smaller fine print. The colors were decent, making it a good experience to watch YouTube. Even the viewing angles were quite good. There was some color shifting when viewed from an angle, but not as much as with TN panels. The anti-reflective coating also did its job well, keeping background reflection at bay. The only complaint regarding the display would be the brightness. It’s not enough to overcome the light on a sunny day inside a brightly lit cafe. The best way I can describe the alleged 1440p webcam is that you can use it for video calls. Don’t expect it to represent how your face actually looks or to have any sharpness, and you’d be good to go. Performance & Battery Inside the Primebook 2 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which, I agree, isn’t the newest kid on the block. It’s paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an unnamed 128GB UFS storage. PrimeOS runs smoothly on the hardware. I could open and close applications reasonably quickly without waiting long. Most of my work happens in Chrome, so I used the laptop for a bit of news writing, along with my usual suite of research tabs. It kept over 10 tabs in memory without stuttering, so I believe studying with the 2 Pro should work out fine. Where I did notice the 4-year-old processor was when running YouTube. The UI loaded quickly and fine, but when I clicked to play a video, there was a brief hitch before it actually played. This was the case with every video I tried playing. The issue became even more noticeable when I opened WhatsApp Web, which I believe many students would. The laptop took a long while loading my messages, and navigating between the different message tabs was a less-than-ideal experience. The PrimeBook 2 Pro is powered by a 60Wh battery. When coupled with the non-flagship internals, the laptop’s battery life is excellent. When working on Chrome, it lasted me two full days of use, with the screen on time hovering around the 9-hour mark. PrimeOS It’s time to talk about PrimeOS. It’s Primebook’s custom Android-based operating system that takes the big-screen Android experience and adds a few desktop-inspired features. It was my first time using PrimeOS, and it’s a decent take. Apps are neatly tucked away into a Finder-like place. The file manager is inspired by both macOS and Windows and does a very good job of organizing files into easily understandable tabs. App support, though, is a bit complicated. Primebook claims you get access to the “entire Android app ecosystem,” but I couldn’t find all the apps. Sure, most of the important apps like PowerPoint, Docs, and others are included, but it’s not a complete list. If you need more apps, you’ll need to request them specifically, which is a bit counterintuitive in my opinion. It’s worth checking that the apps you need are available before buying. Beyond that, since not everything can run on Android, Primebook offers Cloud PC functionality. It lets users emulate Windows or Linux on their laptop, albeit with a fee. Subscriptions start at ₹99 for Linux and ₹499 for Windows. Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to test the functionality during my review period. There is also PrimeCoding, the brand’s own beginner-friendly coding platform. The implementation is simple but useful for beginners learning the basics of programming. Do I see PrimeOS becoming big in the next few years? Yes. Verdict At ₹26,990, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is a unique machine. It’s neither a traditional Windows laptop nor a Chromebook. It’s something in between, and there are a lot of good things about the laptop. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Everything that runs on Android should already be there. Still, the Primebook 2 Pro is a capable machine that, if you’re looking for something to study on, will work just fine and serve you for a few years. #Primebook #Pro #Review #Budget #Laptop #Challenges #ChromebooksChromebook

, that help you write documents, study using online tools like YouTube, and don’t cost a bank. One example is the PrimeBook 2 Pro, which features a 14-inch full HD display and runs on the Helio G99 processor. Since you get all that for ₹26,999, I knew I had to test it. I’ve been using the Primebook 2 Pro for the better part of two weeks, and this review should help you decide whether it’s worth it.

Primebook 2 Pro Review

Hisan Kidwai

Summary

The Primebook 2 Pro is a unique machine. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Still, it’s a capable studying machine

Design & Hardware

Primebook 2 Pro Review: The Budget Laptop That Challenges Chromebooks We’re halfway through 2026, and if there’s one thing we’ve all noticed this year, it’s rising tech prices. Everything is more expensive than last year, all thanks to AI, which has scooped up all memory production, driving prices to insane levels. This has almost killed the budget smartphone space, and the same is happening to laptops. Even Apple raised MacBook prices by well over ₹1 lakh in some configurations. Imagine this: you’re a student or a parent, and you need a budget-friendly laptop to complete schoolwork. Maybe it’s completing a project, or studying for the next exam on a bigger screen; you get the point. That’s exactly the problem PrimeBook aims to solve. For the uninitiated, it’s an Indian startup that focuses on making Android laptops, similar to Chromebooks, that help you write documents, study using online tools like YouTube, and don’t cost a bank. One example is the PrimeBook 2 Pro, which features a 14-inch full HD display and runs on the Helio G99 processor. Since you get all that for ₹26,999, I knew I had to test it. I’ve been using the Primebook 2 Pro for the better part of two weeks, and this review should help you decide whether it’s worth it. Primebook 2 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe Primebook 2 Pro is a unique machine. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Still, it’s a capable studying machine Design & Hardware It’s very hard to judge a laptop’s design on such tight budgets because, you know, brands simply don’t have the budget for extensive R&D. While this is what I’ve thought about many of the budget laptops I’ve tested, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is actually designed rather well. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get the premium metal design, but for the price, the plastic build is excellent. The silver color mimics aluminum, which I quite like, and I observed no flex in the chassis, no matter the pressure. The top has a matte finish that looks sophisticated and doesn’t pick up any fingerprints. I could use the laptop in a trendy cafe without looking out of place. Open the laptop, and you’re greeted by the same premium feel, except this time the keyboard deck has a MacBook-esque finish. The lid extends slightly below the chassis, making it easier to open. The hinge, however, isn’t much to write home about. It keeps the screen steady, but I found it to be quite stiff. I always had to use two hands to open the laptop, which is a nitpick. Still, the best part about the PrimeBook 2 Pro is the portability. The 14-inch form factor was perfect for slipping into any backpack, and the 1.38 kg weight was light enough to carry the laptop anywhere. As far as ports are concerned, Primebook hasn’t taken the MacBook route. That’s because you get dual USB-A ports for connecting accessories, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. While I couldn’t find the speeds for the mentioned ports, it’s hard to complain much at this price. Keyboard & Trackpad When making a budget laptop, the keyboard is usually first on the chopping board to cut costs. While I agree with this sentiment, the keyboard is one of the main ways to interact with the laptop, and I’m glad Primebook 2 Pro doesn’t follow the norm. Its keyboard is perfectly fine. There are no highlight features, but, most importantly, no glaring issues. I got used to the layout pretty quickly. The feedback, while not as tactile as my MacBook, was good enough for long typing sessions. There’s an extra row of shortcuts to get home, end task, and scroll the page, all of which were useful during my testing. Where things went south was with the trackpad. First up, its sensitivity is way too high. A small flick raced the pointer from one end to the other when all I was trying to do was click the publish button on an article. The second issue is the gestures. Remember the extra row on the keyboard for page-up and page-down. Yeah, you’d be using that quite a lot since scrolling with two fingers moves the page by just an inch. I tried finding settings to adjust both of these things, but I couldn’t. So keep that in mind. Display & Camera The PrimeBook 2 Pro features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. For the price, it’s pretty serviceable. The text was easy to read, even the smaller fine print. The colors were decent, making it a good experience to watch YouTube. Even the viewing angles were quite good. There was some color shifting when viewed from an angle, but not as much as with TN panels. The anti-reflective coating also did its job well, keeping background reflection at bay. The only complaint regarding the display would be the brightness. It’s not enough to overcome the light on a sunny day inside a brightly lit cafe. The best way I can describe the alleged 1440p webcam is that you can use it for video calls. Don’t expect it to represent how your face actually looks or to have any sharpness, and you’d be good to go. Performance & Battery Inside the Primebook 2 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which, I agree, isn’t the newest kid on the block. It’s paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an unnamed 128GB UFS storage. PrimeOS runs smoothly on the hardware. I could open and close applications reasonably quickly without waiting long. Most of my work happens in Chrome, so I used the laptop for a bit of news writing, along with my usual suite of research tabs. It kept over 10 tabs in memory without stuttering, so I believe studying with the 2 Pro should work out fine. Where I did notice the 4-year-old processor was when running YouTube. The UI loaded quickly and fine, but when I clicked to play a video, there was a brief hitch before it actually played. This was the case with every video I tried playing. The issue became even more noticeable when I opened WhatsApp Web, which I believe many students would. The laptop took a long while loading my messages, and navigating between the different message tabs was a less-than-ideal experience. The PrimeBook 2 Pro is powered by a 60Wh battery. When coupled with the non-flagship internals, the laptop’s battery life is excellent. When working on Chrome, it lasted me two full days of use, with the screen on time hovering around the 9-hour mark. PrimeOS It’s time to talk about PrimeOS. It’s Primebook’s custom Android-based operating system that takes the big-screen Android experience and adds a few desktop-inspired features. It was my first time using PrimeOS, and it’s a decent take. Apps are neatly tucked away into a Finder-like place. The file manager is inspired by both macOS and Windows and does a very good job of organizing files into easily understandable tabs. App support, though, is a bit complicated. Primebook claims you get access to the “entire Android app ecosystem,” but I couldn’t find all the apps. Sure, most of the important apps like PowerPoint, Docs, and others are included, but it’s not a complete list. If you need more apps, you’ll need to request them specifically, which is a bit counterintuitive in my opinion. It’s worth checking that the apps you need are available before buying. Beyond that, since not everything can run on Android, Primebook offers Cloud PC functionality. It lets users emulate Windows or Linux on their laptop, albeit with a fee. Subscriptions start at ₹99 for Linux and ₹499 for Windows. Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to test the functionality during my review period. There is also PrimeCoding, the brand’s own beginner-friendly coding platform. The implementation is simple but useful for beginners learning the basics of programming. Do I see PrimeOS becoming big in the next few years? Yes. Verdict At ₹26,990, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is a unique machine. It’s neither a traditional Windows laptop nor a Chromebook. It’s something in between, and there are a lot of good things about the laptop. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Everything that runs on Android should already be there. Still, the Primebook 2 Pro is a capable machine that, if you’re looking for something to study on, will work just fine and serve you for a few years. #Primebook #Pro #Review #Budget #Laptop #Challenges #ChromebooksChromebook

It’s very hard to judge a laptop’s design on such tight budgets because, you know, brands simply don’t have the budget for extensive R&D. While this is what I’ve thought about many of the budget laptops I’ve tested, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is actually designed rather well. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get the premium metal design, but for the price, the plastic build is excellent. The silver color mimics aluminum, which I quite like, and I observed no flex in the chassis, no matter the pressure. The top has a matte finish that looks sophisticated and doesn’t pick up any fingerprints. I could use the laptop in a trendy cafe without looking out of place.

Open the laptop, and you’re greeted by the same premium feel, except this time the keyboard deck has a MacBook-esque finish. The lid extends slightly below the chassis, making it easier to open. The hinge, however, isn’t much to write home about. It keeps the screen steady, but I found it to be quite stiff. I always had to use two hands to open the laptop, which is a nitpick. Still, the best part about the PrimeBook 2 Pro is the portability. The 14-inch form factor was perfect for slipping into any backpack, and the 1.38 kg weight was light enough to carry the laptop anywhere.

As far as ports are concerned, Primebook hasn’t taken the MacBook route. That’s because you get dual USB-A ports for connecting accessories, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. While I couldn’t find the speeds for the mentioned ports, it’s hard to complain much at this price.

Keyboard & Trackpad

Closeup of the trackpad and keyboard of the primebook 2 pro

When making a budget laptop, the keyboard is usually first on the chopping board to cut costs. While I agree with this sentiment, the keyboard is one of the main ways to interact with the laptop, and I’m glad Primebook 2 Pro doesn’t follow the norm. Its keyboard is perfectly fine. There are no highlight features, but, most importantly, no glaring issues. I got used to the layout pretty quickly. The feedback, while not as tactile as my MacBook, was good enough for long typing sessions. There’s an extra row of shortcuts to get home, end task, and scroll the page, all of which were useful during my testing.

Where things went south was with the trackpad. First up, its sensitivity is way too high. A small flick raced the pointer from one end to the other when all I was trying to do was click the publish button on an article. The second issue is the gestures. Remember the extra row on the keyboard for page-up and page-down. Yeah, you’d be using that quite a lot since scrolling with two fingers moves the page by just an inch. I tried finding settings to adjust both of these things, but I couldn’t. So keep that in mind.

Display & Camera

Closeup of the display showing an image of mount fuji

The PrimeBook 2 Pro features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. For the price, it’s pretty serviceable. The text was easy to read, even the smaller fine print. The colors were decent, making it a good experience to watch YouTube. Even the viewing angles were quite good. There was some color shifting when viewed from an angle, but not as much as with TN panels. The anti-reflective coating also did its job well, keeping background reflection at bay. The only complaint regarding the display would be the brightness. It’s not enough to overcome the light on a sunny day inside a brightly lit cafe.

The best way I can describe the alleged 1440p webcam is that you can use it for video calls. Don’t expect it to represent how your face actually looks or to have any sharpness, and you’d be good to go.

Performance & Battery

A person watching youtube

Inside the Primebook 2 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which, I agree, isn’t the newest kid on the block. It’s paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an unnamed 128GB UFS storage. PrimeOS runs smoothly on the hardware. I could open and close applications reasonably quickly without waiting long. Most of my work happens in Chrome, so I used the laptop for a bit of news writing, along with my usual suite of research tabs. It kept over 10 tabs in memory without stuttering, so I believe studying with the 2 Pro should work out fine.

Where I did notice the 4-year-old processor was when running YouTube. The UI loaded quickly and fine, but when I clicked to play a video, there was a brief hitch before it actually played. This was the case with every video I tried playing. The issue became even more noticeable when I opened WhatsApp Web, which I believe many students would. The laptop took a long while loading my messages, and navigating between the different message tabs was a less-than-ideal experience.

The PrimeBook 2 Pro is powered by a 60Wh battery. When coupled with the non-flagship internals, the laptop’s battery life is excellent. When working on Chrome, it lasted me two full days of use, with the screen on time hovering around the 9-hour mark.

PrimeOS

PrimeOS app store

It’s time to talk about PrimeOS. It’s Primebook’s custom Android-based operating system that takes the big-screen Android experience and adds a few desktop-inspired features. It was my first time using PrimeOS, and it’s a decent take. Apps are neatly tucked away into a Finder-like place. The file manager is inspired by both macOS and Windows and does a very good job of organizing files into easily understandable tabs. App support, though, is a bit complicated. Primebook claims you get access to the “entire Android app ecosystem,” but I couldn’t find all the apps. Sure, most of the important apps like PowerPoint, Docs, and others are included, but it’s not a complete list. If you need more apps, you’ll need to request them specifically, which is a bit counterintuitive in my opinion. It’s worth checking that the apps you need are available before buying.

Beyond that, since not everything can run on Android, Primebook offers Cloud PC functionality. It lets users emulate Windows or Linux on their laptop, albeit with a fee. Subscriptions start at ₹99 for Linux and ₹499 for Windows. Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to test the functionality during my review period. There is also PrimeCoding, the brand’s own beginner-friendly coding platform. The implementation is simple but useful for beginners learning the basics of programming. Do I see PrimeOS becoming big in the next few years? Yes.

Verdict

Closed laptop

At ₹26,990, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is a unique machine. It’s neither a traditional Windows laptop nor a Chromebook. It’s something in between, and there are a lot of good things about the laptop. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Everything that runs on Android should already be there. Still, the Primebook 2 Pro is a capable machine that, if you’re looking for something to study on, will work just fine and serve you for a few years.

#Primebook #Pro #Review #Budget #Laptop #Challenges #ChromebooksChromebook">Primebook 2 Pro Review: The Budget Laptop That Challenges Chromebooks

We’re halfway through 2026, and if there’s one thing we’ve all noticed this year, it’s rising tech prices. Everything is more expensive than last year, all thanks to AI, which has scooped up all memory production, driving prices to insane levels. This has almost killed the budget smartphone space, and the same is happening to laptops. Even Apple raised MacBook prices by well over ₹1 lakh in some configurations. Imagine this: you’re a student or a parent, and you need a budget-friendly laptop to complete schoolwork. Maybe it’s completing a project, or studying for the next exam on a bigger screen; you get the point.

That’s exactly the problem PrimeBook aims to solve. For the uninitiated, it’s an Indian startup that focuses on making Android laptops, similar to Chromebooks, that help you write documents, study using online tools like YouTube, and don’t cost a bank. One example is the PrimeBook 2 Pro, which features a 14-inch full HD display and runs on the Helio G99 processor. Since you get all that for ₹26,999, I knew I had to test it. I’ve been using the Primebook 2 Pro for the better part of two weeks, and this review should help you decide whether it’s worth it.

Primebook 2 Pro Review

Hisan Kidwai

Summary

The Primebook 2 Pro is a unique machine. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Still, it’s a capable studying machine

Design & Hardware

Primebook 2 Pro Review: The Budget Laptop That Challenges Chromebooks We’re halfway through 2026, and if there’s one thing we’ve all noticed this year, it’s rising tech prices. Everything is more expensive than last year, all thanks to AI, which has scooped up all memory production, driving prices to insane levels. This has almost killed the budget smartphone space, and the same is happening to laptops. Even Apple raised MacBook prices by well over ₹1 lakh in some configurations. Imagine this: you’re a student or a parent, and you need a budget-friendly laptop to complete schoolwork. Maybe it’s completing a project, or studying for the next exam on a bigger screen; you get the point. That’s exactly the problem PrimeBook aims to solve. For the uninitiated, it’s an Indian startup that focuses on making Android laptops, similar to Chromebooks, that help you write documents, study using online tools like YouTube, and don’t cost a bank. One example is the PrimeBook 2 Pro, which features a 14-inch full HD display and runs on the Helio G99 processor. Since you get all that for ₹26,999, I knew I had to test it. I’ve been using the Primebook 2 Pro for the better part of two weeks, and this review should help you decide whether it’s worth it. Primebook 2 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe Primebook 2 Pro is a unique machine. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Still, it’s a capable studying machine Design & Hardware It’s very hard to judge a laptop’s design on such tight budgets because, you know, brands simply don’t have the budget for extensive R&D. While this is what I’ve thought about many of the budget laptops I’ve tested, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is actually designed rather well. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get the premium metal design, but for the price, the plastic build is excellent. The silver color mimics aluminum, which I quite like, and I observed no flex in the chassis, no matter the pressure. The top has a matte finish that looks sophisticated and doesn’t pick up any fingerprints. I could use the laptop in a trendy cafe without looking out of place. Open the laptop, and you’re greeted by the same premium feel, except this time the keyboard deck has a MacBook-esque finish. The lid extends slightly below the chassis, making it easier to open. The hinge, however, isn’t much to write home about. It keeps the screen steady, but I found it to be quite stiff. I always had to use two hands to open the laptop, which is a nitpick. Still, the best part about the PrimeBook 2 Pro is the portability. The 14-inch form factor was perfect for slipping into any backpack, and the 1.38 kg weight was light enough to carry the laptop anywhere. As far as ports are concerned, Primebook hasn’t taken the MacBook route. That’s because you get dual USB-A ports for connecting accessories, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. While I couldn’t find the speeds for the mentioned ports, it’s hard to complain much at this price. Keyboard & Trackpad When making a budget laptop, the keyboard is usually first on the chopping board to cut costs. While I agree with this sentiment, the keyboard is one of the main ways to interact with the laptop, and I’m glad Primebook 2 Pro doesn’t follow the norm. Its keyboard is perfectly fine. There are no highlight features, but, most importantly, no glaring issues. I got used to the layout pretty quickly. The feedback, while not as tactile as my MacBook, was good enough for long typing sessions. There’s an extra row of shortcuts to get home, end task, and scroll the page, all of which were useful during my testing. Where things went south was with the trackpad. First up, its sensitivity is way too high. A small flick raced the pointer from one end to the other when all I was trying to do was click the publish button on an article. The second issue is the gestures. Remember the extra row on the keyboard for page-up and page-down. Yeah, you’d be using that quite a lot since scrolling with two fingers moves the page by just an inch. I tried finding settings to adjust both of these things, but I couldn’t. So keep that in mind. Display & Camera The PrimeBook 2 Pro features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. For the price, it’s pretty serviceable. The text was easy to read, even the smaller fine print. The colors were decent, making it a good experience to watch YouTube. Even the viewing angles were quite good. There was some color shifting when viewed from an angle, but not as much as with TN panels. The anti-reflective coating also did its job well, keeping background reflection at bay. The only complaint regarding the display would be the brightness. It’s not enough to overcome the light on a sunny day inside a brightly lit cafe. The best way I can describe the alleged 1440p webcam is that you can use it for video calls. Don’t expect it to represent how your face actually looks or to have any sharpness, and you’d be good to go. Performance & Battery Inside the Primebook 2 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which, I agree, isn’t the newest kid on the block. It’s paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an unnamed 128GB UFS storage. PrimeOS runs smoothly on the hardware. I could open and close applications reasonably quickly without waiting long. Most of my work happens in Chrome, so I used the laptop for a bit of news writing, along with my usual suite of research tabs. It kept over 10 tabs in memory without stuttering, so I believe studying with the 2 Pro should work out fine. Where I did notice the 4-year-old processor was when running YouTube. The UI loaded quickly and fine, but when I clicked to play a video, there was a brief hitch before it actually played. This was the case with every video I tried playing. The issue became even more noticeable when I opened WhatsApp Web, which I believe many students would. The laptop took a long while loading my messages, and navigating between the different message tabs was a less-than-ideal experience. The PrimeBook 2 Pro is powered by a 60Wh battery. When coupled with the non-flagship internals, the laptop’s battery life is excellent. When working on Chrome, it lasted me two full days of use, with the screen on time hovering around the 9-hour mark. PrimeOS It’s time to talk about PrimeOS. It’s Primebook’s custom Android-based operating system that takes the big-screen Android experience and adds a few desktop-inspired features. It was my first time using PrimeOS, and it’s a decent take. Apps are neatly tucked away into a Finder-like place. The file manager is inspired by both macOS and Windows and does a very good job of organizing files into easily understandable tabs. App support, though, is a bit complicated. Primebook claims you get access to the “entire Android app ecosystem,” but I couldn’t find all the apps. Sure, most of the important apps like PowerPoint, Docs, and others are included, but it’s not a complete list. If you need more apps, you’ll need to request them specifically, which is a bit counterintuitive in my opinion. It’s worth checking that the apps you need are available before buying. Beyond that, since not everything can run on Android, Primebook offers Cloud PC functionality. It lets users emulate Windows or Linux on their laptop, albeit with a fee. Subscriptions start at ₹99 for Linux and ₹499 for Windows. Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to test the functionality during my review period. There is also PrimeCoding, the brand’s own beginner-friendly coding platform. The implementation is simple but useful for beginners learning the basics of programming. Do I see PrimeOS becoming big in the next few years? Yes. Verdict At ₹26,990, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is a unique machine. It’s neither a traditional Windows laptop nor a Chromebook. It’s something in between, and there are a lot of good things about the laptop. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Everything that runs on Android should already be there. Still, the Primebook 2 Pro is a capable machine that, if you’re looking for something to study on, will work just fine and serve you for a few years. #Primebook #Pro #Review #Budget #Laptop #Challenges #ChromebooksChromebook

It’s very hard to judge a laptop’s design on such tight budgets because, you know, brands simply don’t have the budget for extensive R&D. While this is what I’ve thought about many of the budget laptops I’ve tested, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is actually designed rather well. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t get the premium metal design, but for the price, the plastic build is excellent. The silver color mimics aluminum, which I quite like, and I observed no flex in the chassis, no matter the pressure. The top has a matte finish that looks sophisticated and doesn’t pick up any fingerprints. I could use the laptop in a trendy cafe without looking out of place.

Open the laptop, and you’re greeted by the same premium feel, except this time the keyboard deck has a MacBook-esque finish. The lid extends slightly below the chassis, making it easier to open. The hinge, however, isn’t much to write home about. It keeps the screen steady, but I found it to be quite stiff. I always had to use two hands to open the laptop, which is a nitpick. Still, the best part about the PrimeBook 2 Pro is the portability. The 14-inch form factor was perfect for slipping into any backpack, and the 1.38 kg weight was light enough to carry the laptop anywhere.

As far as ports are concerned, Primebook hasn’t taken the MacBook route. That’s because you get dual USB-A ports for connecting accessories, a USB-C port for charging, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. While I couldn’t find the speeds for the mentioned ports, it’s hard to complain much at this price.

Keyboard & Trackpad

Closeup of the trackpad and keyboard of the primebook 2 pro

When making a budget laptop, the keyboard is usually first on the chopping board to cut costs. While I agree with this sentiment, the keyboard is one of the main ways to interact with the laptop, and I’m glad Primebook 2 Pro doesn’t follow the norm. Its keyboard is perfectly fine. There are no highlight features, but, most importantly, no glaring issues. I got used to the layout pretty quickly. The feedback, while not as tactile as my MacBook, was good enough for long typing sessions. There’s an extra row of shortcuts to get home, end task, and scroll the page, all of which were useful during my testing.

Where things went south was with the trackpad. First up, its sensitivity is way too high. A small flick raced the pointer from one end to the other when all I was trying to do was click the publish button on an article. The second issue is the gestures. Remember the extra row on the keyboard for page-up and page-down. Yeah, you’d be using that quite a lot since scrolling with two fingers moves the page by just an inch. I tried finding settings to adjust both of these things, but I couldn’t. So keep that in mind.

Display & Camera

Closeup of the display showing an image of mount fuji

The PrimeBook 2 Pro features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate. For the price, it’s pretty serviceable. The text was easy to read, even the smaller fine print. The colors were decent, making it a good experience to watch YouTube. Even the viewing angles were quite good. There was some color shifting when viewed from an angle, but not as much as with TN panels. The anti-reflective coating also did its job well, keeping background reflection at bay. The only complaint regarding the display would be the brightness. It’s not enough to overcome the light on a sunny day inside a brightly lit cafe.

The best way I can describe the alleged 1440p webcam is that you can use it for video calls. Don’t expect it to represent how your face actually looks or to have any sharpness, and you’d be good to go.

Performance & Battery

A person watching youtube

Inside the Primebook 2 Pro is the MediaTek Helio G99 processor, which, I agree, isn’t the newest kid on the block. It’s paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and an unnamed 128GB UFS storage. PrimeOS runs smoothly on the hardware. I could open and close applications reasonably quickly without waiting long. Most of my work happens in Chrome, so I used the laptop for a bit of news writing, along with my usual suite of research tabs. It kept over 10 tabs in memory without stuttering, so I believe studying with the 2 Pro should work out fine.

Where I did notice the 4-year-old processor was when running YouTube. The UI loaded quickly and fine, but when I clicked to play a video, there was a brief hitch before it actually played. This was the case with every video I tried playing. The issue became even more noticeable when I opened WhatsApp Web, which I believe many students would. The laptop took a long while loading my messages, and navigating between the different message tabs was a less-than-ideal experience.

The PrimeBook 2 Pro is powered by a 60Wh battery. When coupled with the non-flagship internals, the laptop’s battery life is excellent. When working on Chrome, it lasted me two full days of use, with the screen on time hovering around the 9-hour mark.

PrimeOS

PrimeOS app store

It’s time to talk about PrimeOS. It’s Primebook’s custom Android-based operating system that takes the big-screen Android experience and adds a few desktop-inspired features. It was my first time using PrimeOS, and it’s a decent take. Apps are neatly tucked away into a Finder-like place. The file manager is inspired by both macOS and Windows and does a very good job of organizing files into easily understandable tabs. App support, though, is a bit complicated. Primebook claims you get access to the “entire Android app ecosystem,” but I couldn’t find all the apps. Sure, most of the important apps like PowerPoint, Docs, and others are included, but it’s not a complete list. If you need more apps, you’ll need to request them specifically, which is a bit counterintuitive in my opinion. It’s worth checking that the apps you need are available before buying.

Beyond that, since not everything can run on Android, Primebook offers Cloud PC functionality. It lets users emulate Windows or Linux on their laptop, albeit with a fee. Subscriptions start at ₹99 for Linux and ₹499 for Windows. Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to test the functionality during my review period. There is also PrimeCoding, the brand’s own beginner-friendly coding platform. The implementation is simple but useful for beginners learning the basics of programming. Do I see PrimeOS becoming big in the next few years? Yes.

Verdict

Closed laptop

At ₹26,990, the PrimeBook 2 Pro is a unique machine. It’s neither a traditional Windows laptop nor a Chromebook. It’s something in between, and there are a lot of good things about the laptop. The design is way more premium than I expected. The keyboard is great to type on, and even the performance is serviceable. Where Primebook still needs to work on is the optimization. People shouldn’t need to request apps they want to install. Everything that runs on Android should already be there. Still, the Primebook 2 Pro is a capable machine that, if you’re looking for something to study on, will work just fine and serve you for a few years.

#Primebook #Pro #Review #Budget #Laptop #Challenges #ChromebooksChromebook

Years after Guillermo del Toro declared “animation is cinema” at the Oscars, the industry remains a redheaded stepchild of Hollywood.

A recent Variety report with several professionals in the industry discuss how animation’s perceived in the west. At the same time it’s viewed as a “babysitter” medium mainly meant for entertaining kids, it’s been a reliable moneymaker for decades. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently 2026’s only movie to make over $1 billion, while Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2 have been big hits for Disney. But as one animator told the outlet, the success has also been “frustrating” to see: a studio will brag about an animated film’s financial and awards success, then “turn to people who’ve worked here forever and say, ‘We don’t need you anymore.’”

While Pixar president Jim Morris rightfully noted animation’s “propping up a lot of studios right now,” chief creative officer Pete Docter had a different view. He said animation can’t not be considered “films for kids” when most of said films are “funny, goofy, [and] a little bit like babysitter material. We could step our game up [as an industry].” However, Docter doesn’t expound on what “stepping up” would entail, and it’s worth acknowledging Pixar’s backtracking on more specific themes and perspectives in recent years—and his views on such walk backs.

Alternatively, Laika’s solution is making people see their movies as simply movies. Chief marketing officer David Burke told Variety the Wildwood studio doesn’t actively sell their films as animated, instead trusting “[our] audience to find our movies, irrespective of the medium. They defy categorization.” Granted, this may also be due to the studio having a number of live-action projects in development, but Burke’s general point stands: to avoid stigma, animated movies can (and should) be promoted like they’re just regular movies.

For those interested in animation, a true sign of the medium’s respect would be if an animated movie won “Best Feature” at the Oscars. That’s a tall order, and an idea professionals are split on. Morris wants animation employees to be eligible come Oscar voting time, while Jorge Gutiérrez believes live-action movies have a natural edge and “too many Academy members” automatically treat animated fare as something to endure.

You can read the full story here for more insight on what Hollywood’s animation arm is thinking.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Animation #Industry #Hopes #Hollywoods #Full #RespectAnimation,disney,Pixar,The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,Zootopia 2">The Animation Industry Still Hopes for Hollywood’s Full Respect Years after Guillermo del Toro declared “animation is cinema” at the Oscars, the industry remains a redheaded stepchild of Hollywood. A recent Variety report with several professionals in the industry discuss how animation’s perceived in the west. At the same time it’s viewed as a “babysitter” medium mainly meant for entertaining kids, it’s been a reliable moneymaker for decades. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently 2026’s only movie to make over billion, while Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2 have been big hits for Disney. But as one animator told the outlet, the success has also been “frustrating” to see: a studio will brag about an animated film’s financial and awards success, then “turn to people who’ve worked here forever and say, ‘We don’t need you anymore.’” While Pixar president Jim Morris rightfully noted animation’s “propping up a lot of studios right now,” chief creative officer Pete Docter had a different view. He said animation can’t not be considered “films for kids” when most of said films are “funny, goofy, [and] a little bit like babysitter material. We could step our game up [as an industry].” However, Docter doesn’t expound on what “stepping up” would entail, and it’s worth acknowledging Pixar’s backtracking on more specific themes and perspectives in recent years—and his views on such walk backs. Alternatively, Laika’s solution is making people see their movies as simply movies. Chief marketing officer David Burke told Variety the Wildwood studio doesn’t actively sell their films as animated, instead trusting “[our] audience to find our movies, irrespective of the medium. They defy categorization.” Granted, this may also be due to the studio having a number of live-action projects in development, but Burke’s general point stands: to avoid stigma, animated movies can (and should) be promoted like they’re just regular movies. For those interested in animation, a true sign of the medium’s respect would be if an animated movie won “Best Feature” at the Oscars. That’s a tall order, and an idea professionals are split on. Morris wants animation employees to be eligible come Oscar voting time, while Jorge Gutiérrez believes live-action movies have a natural edge and “too many Academy members” automatically treat animated fare as something to endure. You can read the full story here for more insight on what Hollywood’s animation arm is thinking. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Animation #Industry #Hopes #Hollywoods #Full #RespectAnimation,disney,Pixar,The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,Zootopia 2

animation is cinema” at the Oscars, the industry remains a redheaded stepchild of Hollywood.

A recent Variety report with several professionals in the industry discuss how animation’s perceived in the west. At the same time it’s viewed as a “babysitter” medium mainly meant for entertaining kids, it’s been a reliable moneymaker for decades. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently 2026’s only movie to make over $1 billion, while Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2 have been big hits for Disney. But as one animator told the outlet, the success has also been “frustrating” to see: a studio will brag about an animated film’s financial and awards success, then “turn to people who’ve worked here forever and say, ‘We don’t need you anymore.’”

While Pixar president Jim Morris rightfully noted animation’s “propping up a lot of studios right now,” chief creative officer Pete Docter had a different view. He said animation can’t not be considered “films for kids” when most of said films are “funny, goofy, [and] a little bit like babysitter material. We could step our game up [as an industry].” However, Docter doesn’t expound on what “stepping up” would entail, and it’s worth acknowledging Pixar’s backtracking on more specific themes and perspectives in recent years—and his views on such walk backs.

Alternatively, Laika’s solution is making people see their movies as simply movies. Chief marketing officer David Burke told Variety the Wildwood studio doesn’t actively sell their films as animated, instead trusting “[our] audience to find our movies, irrespective of the medium. They defy categorization.” Granted, this may also be due to the studio having a number of live-action projects in development, but Burke’s general point stands: to avoid stigma, animated movies can (and should) be promoted like they’re just regular movies.

For those interested in animation, a true sign of the medium’s respect would be if an animated movie won “Best Feature” at the Oscars. That’s a tall order, and an idea professionals are split on. Morris wants animation employees to be eligible come Oscar voting time, while Jorge Gutiérrez believes live-action movies have a natural edge and “too many Academy members” automatically treat animated fare as something to endure.

You can read the full story here for more insight on what Hollywood’s animation arm is thinking.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Animation #Industry #Hopes #Hollywoods #Full #RespectAnimation,disney,Pixar,The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,Zootopia 2">The Animation Industry Still Hopes for Hollywood’s Full RespectThe Animation Industry Still Hopes for Hollywood’s Full Respect Years after Guillermo del Toro declared “animation is cinema” at the Oscars, the industry remains a redheaded stepchild of Hollywood. A recent Variety report with several professionals in the industry discuss how animation’s perceived in the west. At the same time it’s viewed as a “babysitter” medium mainly meant for entertaining kids, it’s been a reliable moneymaker for decades. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently 2026’s only movie to make over $1 billion, while Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2 have been big hits for Disney. But as one animator told the outlet, the success has also been “frustrating” to see: a studio will brag about an animated film’s financial and awards success, then “turn to people who’ve worked here forever and say, ‘We don’t need you anymore.’” While Pixar president Jim Morris rightfully noted animation’s “propping up a lot of studios right now,” chief creative officer Pete Docter had a different view. He said animation can’t not be considered “films for kids” when most of said films are “funny, goofy, [and] a little bit like babysitter material. We could step our game up [as an industry].” However, Docter doesn’t expound on what “stepping up” would entail, and it’s worth acknowledging Pixar’s backtracking on more specific themes and perspectives in recent years—and his views on such walk backs. Alternatively, Laika’s solution is making people see their movies as simply movies. Chief marketing officer David Burke told Variety the Wildwood studio doesn’t actively sell their films as animated, instead trusting “[our] audience to find our movies, irrespective of the medium. They defy categorization.” Granted, this may also be due to the studio having a number of live-action projects in development, but Burke’s general point stands: to avoid stigma, animated movies can (and should) be promoted like they’re just regular movies. For those interested in animation, a true sign of the medium’s respect would be if an animated movie won “Best Feature” at the Oscars. That’s a tall order, and an idea professionals are split on. Morris wants animation employees to be eligible come Oscar voting time, while Jorge Gutiérrez believes live-action movies have a natural edge and “too many Academy members” automatically treat animated fare as something to endure. You can read the full story here for more insight on what Hollywood’s animation arm is thinking. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Animation #Industry #Hopes #Hollywoods #Full #RespectAnimation,disney,Pixar,The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,Zootopia 2

Years after Guillermo del Toro declared “animation is cinema” at the Oscars, the industry remains a redheaded stepchild of Hollywood.

A recent Variety report with several professionals in the industry discuss how animation’s perceived in the west. At the same time it’s viewed as a “babysitter” medium mainly meant for entertaining kids, it’s been a reliable moneymaker for decades. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently 2026’s only movie to make over $1 billion, while Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2 have been big hits for Disney. But as one animator told the outlet, the success has also been “frustrating” to see: a studio will brag about an animated film’s financial and awards success, then “turn to people who’ve worked here forever and say, ‘We don’t need you anymore.’”

While Pixar president Jim Morris rightfully noted animation’s “propping up a lot of studios right now,” chief creative officer Pete Docter had a different view. He said animation can’t not be considered “films for kids” when most of said films are “funny, goofy, [and] a little bit like babysitter material. We could step our game up [as an industry].” However, Docter doesn’t expound on what “stepping up” would entail, and it’s worth acknowledging Pixar’s backtracking on more specific themes and perspectives in recent years—and his views on such walk backs.

Alternatively, Laika’s solution is making people see their movies as simply movies. Chief marketing officer David Burke told Variety the Wildwood studio doesn’t actively sell their films as animated, instead trusting “[our] audience to find our movies, irrespective of the medium. They defy categorization.” Granted, this may also be due to the studio having a number of live-action projects in development, but Burke’s general point stands: to avoid stigma, animated movies can (and should) be promoted like they’re just regular movies.

For those interested in animation, a true sign of the medium’s respect would be if an animated movie won “Best Feature” at the Oscars. That’s a tall order, and an idea professionals are split on. Morris wants animation employees to be eligible come Oscar voting time, while Jorge Gutiérrez believes live-action movies have a natural edge and “too many Academy members” automatically treat animated fare as something to endure.

You can read the full story here for more insight on what Hollywood’s animation arm is thinking.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Animation #Industry #Hopes #Hollywoods #Full #RespectAnimation,disney,Pixar,The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,Zootopia 2

Post Comment