Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 review

Ever since I began working from home during the pandemic, I started to maintain a positive relationship with myself from eating well to practising mindfulness and searching for a sense of purpose in life. I also revisited my relationship with the many devices in my life. Over the past few months, I ditched a lot of products and started leaning on a single device for my computing needs. Last week, I switched to a new Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 (hello..I still use my phone) and used it in the most creative way possible. From collating ideas for my book to discovering new channels on YouTube, I decided to keep an open mind while reviewing Samsung’s new laptop. Here are some thoughts on the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360.
It’s so sleek and lightweight
Every time I picked up this notebook, it gave me the vibe of a device made for people like myself. When the lid is closed, the Book 2 Pro 360 is just 11.7 millimetres thin. It weighs around 1.1 kg. The size and weight are perfect for a portable laptop — big enough to be comfortable to use but still perfect to be mobile.
When I first held the laptop, I was impressed the size and weight. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 hits the sweet spot in terms of portability. This thing is really beautiful to hold, use and look at. I think people will like the silver finish of the notebook. Surprisingly, despite its compact size, the notebook offers an ample number of ports- including a microSD card reader, and three USB-C ports (one of which is a Thunderbolt 4 port) but a USB-A port is missing. Those who want it would need to buy a USB-C to USB-A adapter. After a while, I didn’t notice that the notebook didn’t have a USB-A port. For someone like me who is more of a mobile user and less of a pro user, I was not concerned at all.

A beautiful display with S-Pen support…but the speakers are average 
The 13.3-inch touch display on the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is phenomenal. It’s a Super AMOLED display, the same level panel as Samsung uses in its smartphones. That translates to punchy colours, deep blacks and improved battery life. The 1080p display translates to a great experience for any average user. Whether streaming a movie on Netflix, working on a presentation or web browsing, this is a nicer display to have for most people.
And, as the “360” moniker implies, it is a 2-in-1 notebook. Because it is so lightweight, using it as a tablet for long periods was not an issue. It’s smooth and easy to fold and the hinges are quite sturdy. The display is also stylus-compatible — the S Pen is sold separately.
The main selling point of the notebook is its portability. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
I didn’t like the sound quality coming from the speakers. This is the first Samsung device in years that doesn’t have amazing sound quality. The audio quality is subpar – forget about comparing it to the speakers on the MacBook M1.
Finally…a 1080p webcam for video calling 
I hate the blurry, fuzzed-out webcam on my Surface Pro. And I am not the only one who finds a webcam on a laptop hideous. Luckily, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 ships with a 1080p webcam. Its 1080p webcam does a much better job with colour and brightness than older 720p webcams on most laptops. While it’s not as good as a front-facing camera on smartphones, the camera is better than most of the standalone webcams I’ve used recently.
The screen is AMOLED type so colour reproduction and viewing angles are great. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
The keyboard is a total killer for me
The keyboard is my third favourite thing in this notebook. I love typing on it. The backlit keyboard is snappy with a solid click and finds the keys responsive enough to type for long periods. Writers and bloggers will love it.  The trackpad is equally impressive. Responsive and, despite its much smaller dimensions compared to a MacBook Air, it is perfectly usable.
The keyboard is comfortable to type on. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)
Shhh. A quiet machine that will get your work faster 
Inside the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is a 12-th Gen Core i7 processor with 16GB RAM and 512GB of SSD. This machine seems quite fast enough for my needs. For what I use a laptop for, it seems to have more than enough processing power. The Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is great for web browsing and office work, and although I wouldn’t recommend it for professional users like video editors and graphic designers or coders, it is good enough to handle those kinds of tasks. But it is possible to do occasional photo editing and some video editing on this machine. This computer is almost eerily silent and makes zero noise. You will never have to worry about the sound of a fan whirring away or the click-clack of a hard drive being accessed.
The battery life is satisfactory. I have gotten about a day’s work out of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360. In my tests, I got roughly 9 to 10 hours of battery which is still impressive. If I decide to work in a cafe or office and if I forgot the charger at home, I know that it will go through the day without the battery dying.

A lot of Samsung preloaded apps 
I was completely unconcerned about Samsung apps until I used the Quick Share app. There are always people who oppose the idea of having so many preloaded apps on their devices — 34 apps, mostly made Samsung, on a Galaxy Book, is too much. But, while using the device, I noticed that some apps are actually useful such as Smart Switch, Quick Share (alternative to Apple’s AirDrop) and Samsung Notes.

Should you buy or skip it?
I liked the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 after a week of use. There’s a certain feel to it that appeals to me, especially writers and bloggers. The responsive screen, S Pen compatibility, terrific keyboard and long battery life all make the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 closer to a perfect notebook, but my reason for getting excited about this device is its ultra-portability. I feel the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 will appeal to those people who want a laptop as portable as the iPad Pro but in a traditional form factor. The only thing you need to consider before buying the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is the price. At Rs 120,990 you are paying a price for portability and long battery life.