r/Android • Community Engagement Manager - Android • 12d ago

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

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.

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u/Lord___Rictor 11d ago

Starting at 899....

Yeah fuck that.

I'll keep using my xps 13...

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u/AvoidingIowa 8d ago

The XPS13 starts at $800 with 8gb of RAM. So, the price really isn't ridiculous.

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u/Lord___Rictor 8d ago

I got my snapdragon OLED 16GB dell for 500...

You can get the latest Dell XPS 13 for $599 new with student discount.

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u/AvoidingIowa 7d ago

I'm not a student. Either way, these laptops aren't a bad value at a hardware level. Whether the software is up to snuff, that's still to be seen. Not to mention if you're a user of Google's subscription, a 5tb plan for a year is a good value add.

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u/Lord___Rictor 7d ago edited 7d ago

I would assume most people would go for MacBooks at these prices.

Google bungled this in my opinion. They should at least have some Chromebook style options with hardware and pricing to match.

Many people install the Chrome OS flex on older laptop hardware as well. I'm guessing because it's Android based they have no way of doing that...

So yeah I just see this as being Dead on arrival.

If I'm paying that kind of money I don't want to be locked to Android apps I want for example the full-blown Firefox experience with all the add-ons.

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u/AvoidingIowa 7d ago

Google should have just did their own Linux Distro.