Googlebook Is Google's New AI-Powered Laptop Platform Built on Android

Almost precisely 15 years since Google introduced Chromebooks and ChromeOS—which ushered a question of cheap, functional, web-based laptops that would travel to predominate the US acquisition market—the institution has announced a caller laptop level called Googlebook. It's built astir artificial quality and Android, and portion it isn't replacing Chromebooks, it could springiness the institution a much meaningful foothold successful the premium machine market.

Google announced the level connected The Android Show connected YouTube, wherever it besides elaborate caller features coming successful Android 17 and Gemini Intelligence (you tin work much astir that here). Google is purposefully not sharing the operating system's sanction yet (it was codenamed Aluminium OS internally); Googlebook is the platform, and Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo person each signed up to nutrient Googlebooks coming aboriginal this fall.

The institution says it volition stock much accusation aboriginal this year, but I spoke with Alexander Kuscher, elder manager astatine Google starring Android tablets and laptops, to glean much details. Kuscher says there's an immense magnitude of innovation successful the Android ecosystem close now, and it translates truly good into laptops.

“You privation to instrumentality vantage of the information that this ecosystem is innovating truthful accelerated that you marque definite that laptops are astatine the extremity of that innovation wave—building connected apical of Android technologies makes that truthful overmuch easier for us,” helium says.

Until now, erstwhile Google rolls retired a caller acceptable of features for Android oregon its Gemini assistant, it often besides announces immoderate of those capabilities for different platforms, similar Wear OS smartwatches, Android Auto, oregon Google Home. Chromebooks were seldom portion of that representation due to the fact that they were developed connected a antithetic tech stack and had their ain improvement cycles. However, with Googlebooks, you tin expect to spot caller features that popular up connected Android disposable connected a Googlebook laptop, wherever it makes sense.

Case successful point: Create a Widget. This is simply a caller generative AI diagnostic coming successful Android 17, allowing users to make their ain widget by speaking people with Gemini. You tin inquire it to marque a widget that shows the day's speech complaint if you're traveling, oregon a customized upwind widget that besides shows upwind speed. This diagnostic volition also beryllium disposable connected Googlebooks.

But the item diagnostic Google is teasing astatine the gross is the cursor, which the institution calls the “Magic Pointer” connected a Googlebook. Built with Google's DeepMind team, wiggle your cursor portion hovering implicit an app oregon representation to get contextual suggestions. For example, you tin wiggle the cursor astatine a day successful an email, and Gemini volition suggest mounting up a calendar event. Or prime 2 pictures successful the Files app, wiggle, and Gemini volition inquire if you privation to merge them.

The Play Store is wherever you'll entree each of your apps. But you mightiness wonderment however Google is getting astir the classical Chromebook limitation: In ChromeOS, you can't download desktop-grade apps similar connected Windows oregon macOS—you tin lone instal Android apps from the Play Store oregon usage web apps. That's a deal-breaker for radical who trust connected circumstantial apps that whitethorn not person arsenic almighty a web lawsuit oregon Android app.

The reply is adaptive apps. Google has been encouraging app developers to marque apps respond to the size of the surface for a fewer years now, and that present translates to encouraging app makers to marque desktop versions of their Android apps for Googlebooks. But Kuscher says things volition beryllium antithetic from the “constrained” Android app acquisition connected Chromebooks, which were primitively built for a web-first era.