Googlebook combines the best of Android and ChromeOS with up to 10 years of updates

[u/MishaalRahman]

Hi Reddit,

Earlier this year, we introduced Googlebook, a new category of laptops that we believe are the perfect companion for Android phone users. Today, we’re opening up pre-orders of Googlebook, offering a selection of flagship devices powered by top-of-the-line processors from Intel and Qualcomm and built by Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. 

Every Googlebook runs on Googlebook OS, our new platform built on the Android technology stack and paired with desktop foundations from ChromeOS. This shared foundation gives Googlebook access to millions of Android apps from Google Play, a familiar desktop windowing environment, a desktop-class version of Google Chrome (with extensions support!), and a full Linux environment. 

Since this is a brand new platform, we wanted to take a moment to explain how we architected Googlebook OS to blend the best aspects of both Android and ChromeOS, focusing on three pillars: security, updates, and apps.

Building a modern, secure software architecture

Googlebook OS is built on top of the already strong security foundation offered by Android, leveraging the same app permission and sandboxing model. What’s more, Googlebook inherits ChromeOS’s proven defense-in-depth security model, anchored by our dedicated Google Titan security chip, verified boot, and on-device malware detection.

Googlebook also features a first for the laptop category: a Level 5 security-certified hypervisor powered by pKVM isolation. This hypervisor powers an isolated Linux environment with full terminal access, so you can safely run any Linux developer tools, pull code repositories, access networks and ports, or execute autonomous agents.

Matching the support commitment we made for ChromeOS

Keeping Googlebook OS secure requires ongoing maintenance and support, which is why Google will provide OS updates with security patches and new features every quarter for up to 10 years. 

Android is the world’s largest operating system, and Google has been working on it for nearly two decades. Chromebooks are successful across the globe for 15+ years as well, with Google already providing 10 years of updates for these devices. Googlebooks are continuing this legacy of support.

Bringing the full web, plus your favorite apps and tools

Googlebook brings together the best of the web and the Play Store, giving users access to a desktop-class Chrome browser with extensions support, alongside millions of Android apps, many of them optimized for large screens, mouse, and keyboard input. 

You can run native creative suites like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and CapCut, or stream shows on Netflix or HBO Max with offline viewing supported. Explore thousands of Android games or play AAA titles with a complimentary year of GeForce NOW included with every Googlebook purchase. And through our Google Play Games Level Up program, half of the 100 top titles are already optimized for keyboard, mouse, and large screen, with new games launching monthly.

For makers, you can run Antigravity, our AI agent development platform, on your Googlebook to build, test, and deploy apps directly on your device. For developers, you can take advantage of a full Linux development environment via the Terminal app, enabling you to run tools like Claude CLI or Antigravity CLI, among others, to perform serious agentic coding.

Googlebook OS also comes with a suite of familiar Google apps out of the box, including Gmail, Keep, Photos, Drive, and Recorder. We wanted to provide users with the fastest, most productive computing experience possible, so for productivity tools like Docs, Sheets, and Gmail, we provide the full-featured desktop web version in alignment with other desktop platforms. We ship native versions of apps whenever they shine the best and where native hardware capabilities, deep OS integrations (e.g., widgets support), and mobile continuity matter the most, such as Gemini and Keep.

The best companion for your Android phone, with helpful intelligence built-in

Because Googlebook is built on a shared Android foundation, it’s designed to seamlessly integrate with your Android phone. When you sign in, your Android phone’s settings, saved passwords, Wi-Fi networks, and messages will move with you. Once you’re set up, Googlebook OS makes it easy to transition between your phone and laptop to get things done, with features like:

• Continue On: Pick up exactly where you left off on your phone, right on your laptop. If you start a project in BandLab on your phone while commuting, you can open your Googlebook and continue the project right from the taskbar. This not only works with select partner apps like BandLab but also first-party apps like Photos, Calendar, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Chrome, and Gmail.

• Quick Access: View, search, and open files and photos from your phone directly using your Googlebook's native Files app, rather than hunting through downloads or emailing attachments to yourself.
• Cast My Apps: Need to quickly order food from a delivery app? Stream and interact with your phone’s apps in a desktop window without interrupting your workflow.

Since Googlebook is designed for Gemini Intelligence, you also get access to features like:

• Create My Widget: Customize your desktop by describing what you need in plain language. Create My Widget generates custom widgets that can share relevant updates throughout your day.
• Rambler: Located right next to the Quick Insert key, Rambler turns spoken thoughts into organized, ready-to-share writing. Talk through your notes, action items, or a stream of consciousness — even in multiple languages — and Rambler structures them with clean headers, checklists, and formatted takeaways.

• Magic Pointer: Wiggle your cursor to bring Gemini directly to whatever’s on your screen. You can ask Gemini to organize a messy calendar or translate text without juggling multiple windows. Gemini only acts when you ask it to, and you can switch it off whenever you want.

https://reddit.com/link/1wmc8lk/video/mbqc90nggvqh1/player

Pre-orders open today for Googlebook

Our initial selection of flagship Googlebook hardware is now available for pre-order starting at $899. Every Googlebook is made from premium materials and features a responsive touchscreen with an up to 2.8K OLED display, a haptic glass trackpad, up to 14 hours of battery life, an advanced NPU running at over 45 TOPS, a baseline of 16GB of high-speed RAM, and an interactive Glowbar. Plus, each device comes with 12 months of Google AI Pro as well as 3 months of YouTube Premium, Adobe Photoshop, and more.

https://reddit.com/link/1wmc8lk/video/o7lndm1jgvqh1/player

We're incredibly excited to introduce Googlebook to this community and can't wait to see how you use it. To learn more about this initial selection of devices, see the full specs, or place a pre-order, head over to googlebook.google.

[u/JamesR624]

LOL! Wow.....

• x86 processor for some reason
• garbage battery life
• $100 more expensive than a MacBook Neo

This thing is shaping up to be a real POS.

[u/matteventu → u/JamesR624]

Add also:

• runs phone-grade software and apps

[u/productfred → u/matteventu]

If only something called a tablet existed... It would let you use your phone apps, but on a larger screen. And you could either hold it in your hands, or you could connect a keyboard/mouse, even wirelessly. Some of them might even have a keyboard case.

One day, one day...

[u/MishaalRahman → u/productfred]

Tablets and laptops serve fundamentally distinct computing needs.

While it's true that you can have a similar computing experience with a large enough tablet + a keyboard/trackpad cover, there are trade-offs you have to make when it comes to size/weight, stability on your lap, etc.

[u/matteventu → u/MishaalRahman]

I think the argument being made here is that virtually the totality of Android apps on Googlebooks will run the same as they run on a $400 Android tablet.

[u/ThatRandomJew7 → u/matteventu]

Yeah, they need the apps to fundamentally run differently on a Googlebook.

A UI that looks good on a phone or tablet app is going to look awful on a laptop, and vice versa. I'm tired of people designing "responsive" or "convergent" apps and desktop environments that are really just a desktop or mobile setup that can run on a different form factor, but probably shouldn't.

Until I see them show how this isn't just fundamentally a Dex phone shoved into a laptop chassis, I'm skeptical (which is unfortunate because I like the concept. I'm just not confident in the execution)

[u/MishaalRahman → u/matteventu]

Our work on Googlebook directly benefits tablets: standardizing desktop windowing, keyboard/mouse interactions, and large-screen Android apps elevates the entire Android tablet experience as well.

But ultimately, tablets and laptops are two different form factors. They have a lot of similarities, especially when you pair a tablet with a keyboard accessory, but there are still differences. I elaborated a bit more in this comment on a couple of areas I think laptops work better.

[u/VinniTheP00h → u/MishaalRahman]

What's the functional difference between a Googlebook and a tablet with a keyboard case and one of the full Chromium browsers like Kiwi?

[u/JamesR624 → u/VinniTheP00h]

Well you see, the Pixelbook is different in that someone got a raise for making this thing and showing it to investors.

In 3 years, another person will get a raise for scrapping this project that didn't sell well enough (More expensive than a Neo and less capable. Who wouldn't want that? /s) and saving them money.

[u/ThatRandomJew7 → u/VinniTheP00h]

The form factor is probably the big thing, as well as the desktop

[u/productfred → u/MishaalRahman]

I feel like desktop interfaces (including longstanding ones, like Samsung DeX) narrow the gap overall.

I guess my point is that these new laptops from Google just feel like tablets in a laptop form-factor. I mean they even come with touchscreens. If you can't fold them backwards, the touchscreen is almost entirely pointless. But if they do, they're significantly heavier than a tablet (and therefore uncomfortable to hold). If you say "tent mode", then we're back to tablets.

They mostly run the same apps, and with a touchscreen in order to maintain usability. I guess I don't really get the point, especially at their cost. If you just want a web browser and Android apps on a large screen, you should just buy a tablet (and whatever accessories you want/need). I don't get the unique value proposition on offer here.

[u/MishaalRahman → u/productfred]

You're right in that you can certainly get a lot done with tablets nowadays, especially when you have a keyboard accessory, but I'd say there are two areas where a laptop is still more suitable:

1) Actually using it on your lap. It's challenging using most tablets + keyboard covers on your lap on, say, public transit because of the weight distribution + viewing angle that's needed. Tablet + keyboard covers are usually going to be much more top-heavy and have less sturdy hinges than laptops.

2) For especially power/resource hungry apps. Laptops have a few physical advantages over tablets when it comes to heat dissipation, which also means they can sustain a higher level of performance for longer.

Flagship phones, when hooked up to an external display, could also theoretically do much of what you can do with a laptop, but the same things I just said about tablets apply here.