Primebook 2 Max review: A step in the right direction
Review Summary
Expert Rating
The first generation of Primebook devices felt more like Android tablets with a keyboard attached than true laptop alternatives. With the new Primebook 2 Max, that perception finally starts to change. From a redesigned chassis and full-sized backlit keyboard to the much-improved PrimeOS 3.0 with AI-powered features. The company has clearly focused on refining both the hardware and software experience. But does it succeed in becoming a dependable everyday machine, or does it remain limited by its Android roots? After using it as a daily work laptop, here’s what we think.
Table of Contents
Specs at a glance
Before we dive into the review, let’s get a quick overview of what Primebook 2 Max has to offer in terms of specs:
- 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display
- MediaTek Helio G99
- 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
- 256GB UFS 2.2 storage
- 60.3Wh battery
- 36W Type-C power adapter (doesn’t support Power Delivery)
- PrimeOS 3.0 (based on Android 15)
Design: a major overhaul
“Presentation matters” – rule number zero for every business. Primebook took it seriously this time, unlike the Primebook 2 Neo (review), which, despite being a pretty good Android laptop on its own, couldn’t catch many eyeballs because of its subpar design. The Primebook 2 Pro and Max got the glow-up they deserved. The plastic construction is now sturdier; the hinge can open approximately 180 degrees and doesn’t feel flimsy; and the chamfered bottom tapers to a thinner profile toward the front. The form factor is similar to that of a typical Windows laptop. It feels like the design has been re-engineered from the ground up.
Weighing approximately 1.6kg, it does not feel heavy to carry, given it’s a 15.6-inch laptop. At the bottom, we now get a full-length silicone elevation for airflow that lifts the laptop more than my work laptop. Though one thing is still the same: it easily picks up scratches and scuffs, and the paint has started to come off in the corners.
The inverted notch helps open the lid and requires two hands, as the base lifts up when you open it. Inside the notch sits a 1080p webcam, right above the display, with mics next to it. The quality is decent for quick online meetings. When not in use, the physical privacy shutter blocks the feed, providing peace of mind for those who prefer double-layer privacy.
Ports and connectivity
The Primebook 2 Max offers three USB 2.0 Type-A ports, a 3.5mm jack, a microSD slot, and two USB-C ports (one OTG, one for charging). Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi are supported. Quick Share is missing, so wireless file transfers require third-party apps like LocalSend.
Keyboard and trackpad: almost there; need to shift some gears
“With a bigger form factor comes extra keys.” Pun aside, we do get a full-sized keyboard, housing ninety-five keys. With some keys customised for the Android OS at its core, the clipboard key comes in handy for viewing and managing copied items. However, the right shift key is quite short and is placed very close to the arrow keys. In fact, most of the time in my testing, I ended up pressing the wrong key while using the shift or arrow keys.
That said, they are quite comfortable to type on and are backlit with two brightness levels for late-night use; the timeout can be tweaked in settings. Overall, the keyboard is quite good in the segment, and I liked the travel distance and the clicky feedback.
The trackpad is placed slightly towards the left, has a 1mm groove that makes it easier to locate, and is considerably large for comfortable use. This large surface makes it easy to perform pinch and three-finger gestures (like jumping to the home screen or switching apps). The left and right-click buttons can be pressed on up to 80 percent of the surface area, giving peace of mind that the click is registered without fail.
Display: anti-glare punchiness
The Primebook 2 Max features a large 15.6-inch Full-HD IPS anti-glare panel that delivers punchy colours. The viewing angles are great, as the colours don’t shift even at extreme angles. While Primebook hasn’t shared any official numbers, the contrast is quite rich, as the blacks are deep, so you can really enjoy thriller titles or space explorations. The only caveat is that in low-light conditions, the colour bands are visible, as it appears to be an 8-bit display.
As for brightness control, there’s a dedicated 12-stage key that lets you ramp up the screen brightness to 250 nits, which is ideal for indoor use. There’s even a super-brightness mode available under display settings for outdoor use. However, given it’s an anti-glare display, even with it enabled, the brightness still isn’t sufficient.
Audio: loud enough to fill a room
Paired with dual stereo downward-firing speakers, with secondary mesh placed on either side of the keyboard. While they aren’t rich in sound quality, the output is loud enough for a group of six to eight people.
The quality is decent up to eighty percent volume, but beyond that, the distortion is quite evident, resulting in an unpleasant experience.
Software: potential to set a new prime
Moving over to software, the Primebook 2 Max runs on the new PrimeOS 3.0, based on Android 15. This is where things get interesting; this PrimeOS 3.0 feels different from what I experienced on the Primebook 2 Neo. It gives off a Windows laptop vibe now, like there’s a dedicated task manager that gives you an overview of your system, running apps, resource utilisation, and control over startup apps.
Like Windows, one can now snap two apps, pin them, and even open and layer multiple apps simultaneously. There are a couple of nifty new features this time, like hiding the taskbar, tweaking touchpad settings, changing the default AI, and more.
Additionally, PrimeOS 3.0 now comes with its own PrimeAGNT as well, which is an agentic AI powered by Gemini 3.0 Flash, 3.1 Lite, and Qwen 3.5 Flash models. It can open apps, run subtasks, install apps from Primestore, and more. It can read context from screenshots and retain the conversation in memory. There’s a sensitive field guard that asks for permission before interacting with sensitive data, such as passwords, PINs, and payment information. These agentic AI features incur a cost in credits, and 1 lakh credits are provided for free.
I performed a generic email and meeting schedule checkup task that consumed approximately 3,000 credits. So you’ll need to buy more credits pretty quickly. For INR 100, you can buy 10,000 credits from their store.
Given it’s an Android laptop, you can enjoy titles like BGMI, Call of Duty, Genshin Impact, and more. However, since the Primebook doesn’t feature a touchscreen, it has a built-in customisable keymapping tool with presets for 50 titles.
Some of the Windows shortcuts are also integrated into PrimeOS. Here are the shortcut keys that can come in handy:
With Windows and Linux as cloud solutions, users can run programs such as Microsoft Office Suite, Photoshop, and CAD on the servers.
Overall, with these new UI improvements, Primebook has done a pretty good job of providing a homely experience to Windows users. However, there are still a few areas that need some polishing, like the lack of a calendar in the quick settings window, the lock screen still feeling like a large tablet rather than a laptop, and the ability to store screenshots in the clipboard.
Hardware: works, but not enough…
Under the hood, it packs the same DNA as its siblings, powered by the MediaTek Dimensity Helio G99. It’s an octa-core processor based on a 6 nm architecture, which helps with battery efficiency. But what’s upgraded in the Max variant is 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM; double the storage at 256GB of UFS 2.2 standard, which can be expanded to 1TB via a microSD card; and a bigger 60.3Wh battery.
The hardware aligns with budget tablets, such as the Realme Pad 2 (review), Realme Pad 2 Lite, and Acer Iconia Tab (review). To test the waters, we ran a couple of synthetic benchmarks on the Primebook 2 Max and got the following results.
On Geekbench 6, it scored 703 points for single-core and 1,651 points for multi-core tasks. In the PCMark Work 3.0 performance test, it scored 10,030 points. In the memory tests, it achieved speeds of 29.34 MB/s, 37.85 MB/s, and 4.18 GB/s for random write, random read, and memory copy, respectively. These numbers align with those of other devices powered by the same chipset.
Moving past the synthetic benchmarks, the Primebook 2 Max runs smoothly in Android mode, even with a couple of apps running in the background. For lightweight apps like YouTube, Google Sheets, and Gmail, the app switching is seamless. But if you are a serious multitasker like me with heavy apps or a lot of tabs running in the background, the limited performance of the Helio G99 shows lag or delays, which might slightly hinder your experience.
Battery: lasts an entire day
The Primebook 2 Max draws power from a 60.3Wh battery pack that is claimed to offer up to 12 hours of backup; that stands true, as in our standardised PCMark test for laptops, it scored 13 hours and 39 minutes. In a real-life test, I was able to easily pull off an entire office day with a mix of emails, sheets, docs, web browsing, YouTube, and more, without worrying about charging.
When the battery runs out of charge, the included 36W Type-C power adapter can juice it up in 2 hours and 40 mins, which is on the higher side. I would have appreciated it if the brand had included support for faster charging. The lack of PD charging is another missed opportunity, forcing you to carry an additional charger.
Verdict: stepping stone in the right direction
The Primebook 2 Max is a major leap ahead of its predecessor and a step in the right direction. It no longer feels like just an Android tablet in a laptop shell. With PrimeOS 3.0, the company has delivered a much more desktop-like experience that feels familiar to Windows users while retaining Android’s lightweight and app-friendly nature.
The laptop gets several fundamentals right: a comfortable full-sized backlit keyboard, a large matte Full HD display, reliable all-day battery life, and useful multitasking additions like window snapping and layered apps. The addition of PrimeAGNT also shows that Primebook is trying to push beyond basic Android laptops and carve out its own identity, sidelining Windows as an optional add-on. However, there are still a few areas for improvement, such as a larger app library and the addition of PD charging. The MediaTek Helio G99 is good for lightweight tasks, but power users will notice slowdowns. Build quality also leaves room for improvement.
If you primarily rely on web apps, documents, emails, streaming, and lightweight Android workflows. If your workload revolves around browsers and cloud-based tools, and you don’t want to settle for a tablet or a Chromebook. The Primebook 2 Max offers a surprisingly practical experience at an affordable price of Rs 28,999. Heavy users, however, should stick to a conventional Windows laptop. Now that Primebook has stepped up its game, and Google is also hopping into the Android laptop segment with Googlebook, things are about to get interesting.
Editor’s rating: 7.6 / 10
Pros:
- Offers a Windows-like experience
- Punchy Full HD matte display
- Comfortable full-fledged backlit keyboard
- Excellent one-day battery life
Cons:
- Hardware isn’t powerful enough
- Limited app library support
- No support for PD charging
- Easily picks up scratches
