After hands-on time with Googlebooks, I perceive why Google is happy — and why patrons would possibly hesitate
We’re proper in the midst of a computing shift. Tasks are accomplished on telephones and tablets as an alternative of laptops, laptops are more and more that includes Arm-based processors for higher effectivity, and desktops, as we all know them, are shrinking. It’s all evolving, and Google has a brand new imaginative and prescient for what the laptop computer of the longer term ought to be.
Crucially, it is not attempting to reinvent the wheel or change the laptop computer type issue. Instead, Google needs to reimagine the working system, remodeling it into an “intelligence system” with cross-platform experiences and Gemini Intelligence on the core. Googlebooks are a new class of laptops that run this new working system, referred to as Googlebook OS. They’re premium laptops that sit above Chromebooks each in worth and efficiency, working Googlebook OS software program constructed on the Android tech stack with desktop foundations from ChromeOS and a Linux subsystem.
I attempted a number of Googlebook laptops to see what it is truly like to make use of them — and this new OS. My preliminary impressions are surprisingly constructive. App assist will make or break Googlebook OS, and it will doubtless be tough firstly. But Googlebook OS and Android are higher built-in than macOS and iOS, and that is a testomony to what Google has constructed right here.
About this text: Qualcomm offered journey and lodging for Snapdragon Summit. The firm had no enter on this article, and didn’t see it earlier than publishing.
Googlebook {hardware} is not the issue
Premium chips, premium construct high quality, premium worth
If you are skeptical about whether or not Googlebooks are well worth the worth — the most cost effective mannequin is the Acer Googlebook 14 at $899 — the {hardware} should not be the rationale why.
They are all decidedly premium, as each Googlebook is made out of fancy and sturdy supplies like aluminum, magnesium alloy, and carbon fiber. All the Googlebooks use a touchscreen show, and all however one (the Dell XPS Googlebook) characteristic OLED panels. They additionally all have a customized Glowbar, and whereas performance is questionable, it is a trendy and intelligent callback to Google’s Pixel Chromebook. There are at the moment 5 Googlebook fashions (listed beneath), however these {hardware} necessities ought to apply to new ones, too.
I went hands-on with the Dell XPS Googlebook and the HP Googlebook 14 at Snapdragon Summit, and the XPS Googlebook’s design blew me away. It shares many design similarities with the Dell XPS 13 released this year, and that is a great factor. It has an aluminum chassis, measures simply 12.7mm thick, and weighs solely 2.2 kilos. It has an LCD panel and a smaller 13.4-inch display measurement, which can be deal-breakers for some. But these specs are additionally why it is priced beneath $1,000 and has such a compact type issue.
As for specs, each Googlebook has a minimal of 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This is double the reminiscence of the MacBook Neo, and RAM is a spec that partly explains Googlebook pricing. The chip is the opposite half of the story — each Googlebook has a desktop-class processor within the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X family. It’s notable that the Intel processors are from 2026 and the Snapdragon processors are from 2024, however Snapdragon X Elite chips are nonetheless loads quick.
After utilizing Apple silicon and Snapdragon X chips on numerous macOS and Windows PCs, I can’t bear to use x86 chips on my private gadgets. All that’s to say that I’m glad Snapdragon X Elite chips can be found on Googlebooks. However, the looming query is whether or not Googlebook OS may even make use of the facility of Intel Core Ultra Series 3 or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite. That’s the query I attempted to reply at Snapdragon Summit, speaking with representatives from the associate OEMs constructing Googlebook {hardware}.
Software is the most effective factor about Googlebooks
But it may very well be the worst factor in case your apps do not run on Googlebook OS
App assist will likely be a query mark within the early days of Googlebook OS, however there are promising indicators. For starters, whether or not an app will run is not a significant concern. Googlebooks run a full-fledged desktop model of Chrome, assist each Progressive Web Apps (PWA) and Trusted Web Activities (TWAs), and have the complete energy of the Google Play Store. There’s a great likelihood that you’ll entry the apps and providers you want by way of a kind of strategies. However, whether or not these apps are desktop-class applications totally optimized for Googlebook OS, Android apps from the Play Store, or net purchasers will range — and that is the issue.
Adobe is engaged on a model of Premiere made for Googlebook OS, and that is a great begin. But it is my impression that many apps, together with Photoshop and Lightroom, will use Android-based variations within the early going relatively than tailored variants on-par with macOS and Windows equivalents. I ought to observe that I’m totally conscious most laptop computer customers do not edit images or video. In truth, lots of them may work fully inside an online browser. I may too, if I actually needed to.
So, why is app assist an enormous deal for Googlebooks? It’s as a result of Chromebooks and ChromeOS had been already designed for customers who did not want desktop-class apps or plenty of efficiency. If persons are going to pay double the value of a Chromebook Plus for a Googlebook, there must be a motive. And if the reason being further efficiency, you want desktop-caliber applications that may make use of it.
I could not check particular apps or workflows in my restricted hands-on time with the Dell XPS Googlebook and the HP Googlebook 14. And but, I already discovered a motive to decide on a Googlebook over a Chromebook, or macOS and Windows PCs for that matter: software program. I’m not speaking in regards to the sort of software program that allows you to run intensive, skilled workflows in your laptop computer. I’m speaking in regards to the sort of software program that makes individuals select a Google Pixel telephone over a Samsung Galaxy telephone, regardless of the latter providing objectively higher {hardware} for the value.
Googlebook OS feels like Google’s version of Android, Pixel UI, and that is fairly a praise. When you begin enjoying round with a Googlebook, issues really feel acquainted. The app drawer, notification shade, and management panel all appear like their Pixel UI inspirations. Even the system apps, like Settings and Files, are visually impressed by Android. From a visible and consumer expertise standpoint, Googlebook OS has a design language derived from Google’s cell OS.
But that is not precisely new, and neither is it a foul factor. Apple’s macOS added a settings app, notification heart, and management heart that intently resembles iOS lately. Windows design remains to be caught up to now in some methods, however Microsoft nonetheless has Phone Link as a method to make utilizing your smartphone out of your PC simpler. Meanwhile, the mobile-inspired and touch-friendly consumer interface supplied by Googlebook OS suits in completely with Googlebook {hardware}, since each mannequin has a touchscreen.
With Googlebook OS, Google did what Microsoft and Apple had been already attempting to do, however higher. The Files app in Googlebook OS is the proper instance. With it, you may entry images and recordsdata out of your Android telephone in your Googlebook — no file sharing or sorting required. You would possibly assume iPhones and Macs work the identical means, however they do not. You can retailer recordsdata in iCloud for cross-platform entry, or share them by way of AirDrop. You cannot entry recordsdata saved domestically in your iPhone out of your Mac with out file sharing or sorting.
App continuity is healthier, too, because of the Continue On characteristic in Googlebook OS. You can decide one thing up in your laptop computer the place you left off in your telephone. Google is not the primary firm to pioneer this, but it surely’ll work higher on Googlebook OS since each gadget sorts use the identical underlying tech stack. Cast My Apps is a neat method to management your telephone remotely out of your Googlebook, however admittedly, it is a carbon copy of comparable performance obtainable on macOS and Windows.
Should you purchase a Googlebook?
Only if you happen to’re keen to just accept the rising pains
Let’s return to the consumer expertise and design language of Googlebook OS, which is closely impressed by Pixel UI. As a lot as I really like Pixel UI, I am unable to use it because of the {hardware} limitations of Google Pixel {hardware}. In truth, at Snapdragon Summit, I used to be chatting with fellow journalists about how I’d like to put Pixel UI on a Galaxy S26 Ultra and construct the proper handset. Well, Googlebook OS has that lovely and intuitive design, however with out the {hardware} drawbacks.
Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite are dependable, confirmed chipsets. With Google’s strict {hardware} necessities, efficiency will not be an issue. You get Googlebook OS software program that’s beautiful with no {hardware} drawbacks. Instead, the drawbacks will likely be app assist. Based on how few laptop computer customers depend on demanding specialty apps nowadays, I believe this may very well be a smaller hurdle to recover from than, say, Pixel telephone {hardware} limitations.
So, who should purchase a Googlebook? If you are completely bought on Pixel UI and ChromeOS, and have been salivating over the concept of Google software program on a premium laptop computer, Googlebooks are for you. For everybody else, they’re nonetheless firmly within the “wait and see” section. I’d warning towards pre-ordering a Googlebook, and suggest ready to see how app assist fares earlier than dropping not less than $899 on one.
- Operating System
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Googlebook OS
- CPU
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Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
- RAM
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16GB
- Storage
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512GB
- Display (Size, Resolution)
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13.4-inch, 2560 x 1600
Dell’s XPS Googlebook is a premium Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptop computer working Google’s new desktop working system, which neatly integrates with Android and Google providers.
