PrimeOS: Android x86 for weak laptops and PCs

The site has already spread several posts on the topic of installing Android systems on a laptop or PC: it is generally done to run specific games and applications that slow down in an Android emulator, or just to comfortably run on older hardware. . PrimeOS is another such operating system based on Android x86, adapted for use on computers.

In this review, on where to download PrimeOS, available distributions and their differences, the filling, the installation and the subjective impression of the work. I should point out in advance that it is not necessary to install the system for testing: also works quickly from a USB key in LiveCD mode. In relation to similar systems: How to install Android on a laptop or computer.

Where to download PrimeOS and 3 system variants available

The official PrimeOS web portal is https://primeos.in. curiously, this is the first Android adaptation for PC that I have come across, developed not in China but in India (Unless you count the pure Android x86, which is not very comfortable to use on a normal monitor).

There are three versions of PrimeOS on the official web portal at the same time:

1. PrimeOS Mainline. – for computers released in 2014 and then, In other words, for relatively new systems x
2. PrimeOS standard – plus a x64 variant, for systems launched in 2011 and later.
3. Classic PrimeOS – Version of 32 bits, for old equipment.

At the same time, there are two distribution downloads available for each option (that occupy little more than 1 GB):

• Window installer. – to run within Windows and simply install on the hard drive. It is only enabled for UEFI boot systems; opposite case, cannot install with this file.
• ISO image – System image for writing to a flash drive with the ability to run in LiveCD mode or install on a computer or virtual machine. Works in both EFI and Legacy mode.

Start, PrimeOS interface and operability

In my test, I downloaded the PrimeOS Mainline ISO image and burned it to a flash drive. The developers recommend using Rufus or Etcher for this (the last option is suitable if you want to write the system to USB on Mac OS or Linux). To boot from the created drive, you will need to permanently disable Secure Boot (if enabled, it is possible that it is not present in older systems).

The experiment was conducted on a Dell Vostro laptop with i5-7200u, integrated video and 16 GB of RAM.

1. Running in LiveCD mode was successful. At the first start, required to enter Android user data in English window (not Google account data).
2. The Russian language of the interface is set in Settings – Language and input.
3. The keyboard input configuration is done in the physical keyboard configuration, the settings are shown in the screenshot below. Change to Win + Space, which is not very convenient (because the Win key also opens “Start” on PrimeOS).
4. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, volume keys and keyboard brightness (combined with Fn), webcam and USB connectors worked right out of the box. But, even when the volume keys work, the sound itself on my system does not turn on.

Outcome: everything works, very fast (but also the laptop is not the weakest), below is a screenshot from Geekbench, the result is better than my Galaxy Note 9.

The interface is minimalist and there is nothing superfluous in the system, Android 7.1 almost pure, only add FX file manager, the Gaming Center app, where you can configure keyboard control in games, and a section on settings:

There you can enable Root access, view PrimeOS hotkeys, select which applications can run in multiple windows and enable the option for applications to think that the Internet connection is via Wi-Fi even though they are actually using Ethernet.

That's probably all there is to say: a truly simple Android operating system, practical and fast, Useful, except no luck with the sound, apparently no drivers found.

PrimeOS installation

First, when installing this type of system as a second OS together with Windows, I recommend caution: things can't always go well, so you have to have backup copies of important data or, even better, know how to restore the original system if necessary.

Installing PrimeOS, as already described, it is feasible through two methods:

1. Using the standard installer on EFI systems: just run the installer, Secure Boot should be disabled. Specify how much space and what disk to allocate for PrimeOS, Wait, the computer will restart in the procedure. The developer points out that you don't have to pay attention to the command line windows that appear in the procedure and do something in them.
2. From a bootable flash drive. For this case, before starting from it, prepare a separate partition for PrimeOS and, during the installation, select that partition, specify Ext4 file system (the data it contains will be deleted) and grant R access / W (writing / reading) to this partition, that will be requested throughout the procedure.

I have not fully checked the installation procedure, but most likely, the whole procedure is not very different from the installation of other similar systems.

And in short: PrimeOS was to my liking. But you can try other similar systems without installation: Remix OS, Bliss OS and Phoenix OS, maybe one of them you like more than the others.