GoKawiilis a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.
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There are a few things about using a Googlebook that immediately feel just right. The hardware is polished (since it’s based on current laptops). The OS is familiar (if you’ve ever used a Chromebook). But most impressive, it integrates your Android phone with your PC so they feel more like one device. It’s the culmination of a series of new ideas that blur the two devices together. After my first look, I went from doubtful to excited by the prospect of Google pulling it all off.
After an initial barebones announcement in May, Google is finally launching Googlebooks — its new line of Android-based laptops. The initial five Googlebook models from Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, and Asus all launch October 4th, with preorders available now and starting prices ranging from $899 to $1,299.
So what are Googlebooks?
In a nutshell, they’re laptops running a new operating system that’s a blend of Chromebooks and Android — with a whole lot of Gemini AI stuff built in. They look quite like Chromebooks, but with Android’s Material Three Expressive UI stylings on the software side and higher-end materials for hardware. There doesn’t seem to be a baseline spec for Googlebooks, but at launch they’re all thin-and-light laptops ranging from 13 inches to 15 inches with 16GB of RAM or more, touchscreen displays (most of them OLED), metal chassis, backlit keyboards, either fingerprint or facial recognition unlocking (or both), and a Google-y Glowbar light strip on their lids.
The launch lineup for Googlebooks. Image: Google
Powering the initial lineup of Googlebooks are Intel Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” and Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips, with MediaTek options expected to come later. While the first wave of Googlebooks are similarly sized and all have “Googlebook” in their name, there are some variations: haptic or mechanical trackpads, port offerings, even a 2-in-1 convertible. Check out our roundup of all the hardware here.
I spent a bit of time prodding all the Googlebooks during my demos, and each one felt pretty nice. They each have their own unique qualities: the Asus was incredibly lightweight, the Lenovo has plenty of ports and an optional mouse with a matching Glowbar light, the Acer’s convertible form factor allows some tablet-like use (and it’s pretty affordable for a Panther Lake laptop). The HP had a great looking screen and a latticeless keyboard I surprisingly didn’t hate, and the Dell is basically a gold XPS 13 (which is excellent) but with a different chip.
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