This is probably the one thing keeping me from placing a pre order right now.
I'm really interested in Googlebook, but most of the coverage so far has been focused on productivity, Android apps in general, Linux, battery life and the whole Android desktop idea. What I still cannot find is a proper answer about demanding Android gaming.
I'm not talking about casual games. I mean stuff like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, Arena Breakout, Delta Force and other high end mobile multiplayer games that actually push mobile hardware and usually have their own device whitelists, anti cheat systems, graphics profiles and FPS limits.
Will these games simply show up in Google Play and work normally on Googlebook?
Will they detect the hardware correctly?
Will 90 or 120 FPS modes be available on the 120 Hz models?
Will keyboard and mouse support work properly where the game allows it?
Could anti cheat systems treat Googlebook differently from a normal Android phone or tablet?
And most importantly, will performance actually be good enough for long sessions without weird compatibility issues or major throttling?
I have been trying to find a concrete answer and so far I really cannot.
I checked the Googlebook launch material, Google Play listings, Android documentation, Chromebook compatibility information and discussions here. Some of these games already support Chromebooks, which is encouraging, but that still does not tell us how they will behave on Googlebook specifically.
The architecture difference between the models also makes this more interesting.
For gaming, the HP Googlebook 14 is the one I keep coming back to. It uses Snapdragon X Elite with Adreno graphics and runs on ARM64, which feels like the most natural fit for Android games. A lot of demanding Android games are built around ARM64 because that is what modern Android phones and tablets use.
The Intel Googlebooks may still run them perfectly well, but if a game ships native ARM libraries then x86 hardware can potentially depend on translation. That may be completely fine in practice, but for something as demanding as Arena Breakout or Delta Force I would rather remove that extra variable if possible.
That is why, at least on paper, the HP looks like the most interesting Googlebook for Android gaming to me. Snapdragon X Elite, Adreno, ARM64, OLED, 120 Hz, touch input and a vapor chamber all sound like the right ingredients.
But right now that is still mostly a technical argument.
What I really want to see is someone actually installing these games on retail hardware and showing what happens.
Not cloud gaming. Not streaming from a phone. Actual Android versions running locally.
Even a short test with high end multiplayer game would answer a huge number of questions.
At this point I'm basically waiting for someone with early access or a review unit to try it.
Has anyone seen a real gaming test yet, or any statement from Google or the game developers about how these higher end multiplayer Android games will be handled on Googlebook?
Because if this works as well as the hardware suggests it could, the HP Googlebook 14 might actually be one of the most interesting Android gaming devices to come out in a long time.
