Google “Googlebook” laptops launch with Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo options
Google has officially launched its first Googlebook laptops, and they cost £999 or more
Google has officially launched its first Googlebook laptops, new Android-powered laptops with Google’s Chrome browser, the Google Play Store, and Gemini AI support. Right now, devices from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are available, with prices starting at £999.
Right now, Google’s Googlebook devices are available with Intel Core Ultra and Qualcomm Snapdragon X series CPUs. All devices come with a 12-month trial of Google AI Pro and 5TB of cloud storage. Google says that their new OS is “crafted for performance”, and that Googlebooks can be “synced effortlessly with your Android phone”.
Google markets their Googlebook devices as having a minimum of 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, up to 14 hours of battery life (more for some devices), and weights of under 1.29kg. Acer, ASUS and Lenovo’s Googlebook models use Intel Core Ultra CPUs, while Dell and HP use Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPUs.
Will Googlebook succeed
Google’s Googlebook laptops appear to be a high-end replacement for the company’s ChromeOS devices. With its basis in Android, Google Googlebook devices can be more cross-compatible with Android devices, offering Google similar benefits to Apple’s macOS/iOS ecosystem. If Google can gain strong app support and deliver a solid PC experience, Googlebook devices could replace Windows laptops for many users. That said, it remains to be seen if Google has plans to extend its Googlebook ecosystem into the desktop PC space. Could Google Studio PCs be in the works?
One design feature of Google’s new laptops is their “Glowbar”. This bar appears to be linked to “Google Intelligence” AI utilisation. Based on this, I am going to call this feature a fad. If this bar isn’t useful for anything outside of Google Intelligence, it will be a useless add-on for many users.
Regarding app support, Googlebook devices can support apps like Adobe Photoshop and other pro apps through the Google Play Store. Furthermore, apps like Notion, Notability, Dropbox, Adobe Premiere, and Canva are available. Note that while Google advertises support for “thousands of games”, it can’t natively play “PC heavyweights”. For this, Google advertises GeForce Now support.
Right now, very few reviews are available for these devices. As it stands, there is no reason to recommend these devices. Google needs to prove that these devices can work well as daily drivers. The lack of pre-launch reviews is a bad sign for these new devices.
Join the discussion on Google’s Googlebook laptops on the OC3D Forums.
