Google has tried to make the laptop more Google before. Chromebooks became hugely successful in education and affordable computing, while the Pixelbook showed that ChromeOS hardware could also be premium. But neither really became Google's answer to the MacBook for mainstream Android users.
The new Googlebook feels different.
Rather than simply making another Chromebook, Google has built Googlebook around the Android technology stack while borrowing desktop foundations from ChromeOS. More importantly, it is designed to work closely with Android phones. Files from your phone can appear directly on the laptop, phone apps can be accessed from the computer, and tasks can move between the two devices more naturally. (blog.google)
That might actually be Googlebook's biggest advantage. Apple has spent years making the iPhone and Mac feel like parts of the same system. Android has never had quite the same laptop relationship. Googlebook is clearly trying to fix that.
The hardware isn't positioned as cheap Chromebook territory either. The first models come from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo, starting at US$899. Depending on the model, you'll find Intel Core Ultra or Snapdragon X Elite processors, at least 16GB RAM in the initial US lineup, touchscreen displays and up to 19 hours of claimed battery life. (blog.google)
Then there's Gemini. Google isn't treating AI as another app installed on the laptop. Googlebook is designed around Gemini Intelligence, with features such as Magic Pointer, which can understand content you're pointing at and bring Gemini into the workflow without constantly switching windows. (blog.google)
The question is whether all of this is enough to convince people to leave Windows or macOS.
That's where I'm less convinced.
A laptop isn't just about good hardware anymore. It's about the software you've accumulated over years. Googlebook supports native Android apps and has a Linux foundation, but users who depend on specific Windows or macOS applications will need to know whether their workflow really translates. That could matter more than any AI feature. (The Verge)
Still, Googlebook is probably the most interesting attempt Google has made at the laptop in years.
Not because Google invented a radically new computer, but because it finally seems to understand what an Android laptop should be.
Not a bigger phone. Not just another Chromebook. A proper laptop that makes owning an Android phone better.
That is something I'd like to try.
Related perspective: GoogleBook Is Back, But This Time Google Is Serious About the Laptop