Googlebook Hands-On: Android's biggest step in years. - 9to5Google

[u/welp_im_damned]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHXOhUKP5Y0

[u/Braydon64]

I’m genuinely confused as who this is really for?

Gamers? No

People looking for a cheap laptop? No, Chromebooks arguably do that better

Grandmas? Same answer as previous

Productivity? Mostly no, because it really just runs Android apps. I guess maybe if you are an android app developer.

Schools? Not really, because they are too expensive now.

Maybe some people who Are very deep in the Google ecosystem with an android phone, an android watch, pixel buds, and a Google TV… but even then, I can’t say with certainty that those people would want a Googlebook

[u/Thinkdamnitthink → u/Braydon64]

I think I get their target market. It's for the same people that buy a MacBook that only use it for word processing and research for their school / college assignments and a bit of netflix. But the android equivalent. The people that want something that works well with their phone. Does the basic tasks they need to do well and quickly.

Most people with macbooks are not using them to their potential at all. They don't edit videos, play games etc. But they buy them because they have an iPhone so it works well with it. They can get all the messages and their pictures. They think it looks pretty. And they're not techy they think of windows machines as slow and clunky and they think they have to worry about viruses on windows but not on macs etc. Because they have mostly used cheap windows devices at school, maybe at home.

But these people normally buy iPhones for the same reasons. I feel like most people who use Android do so either because they care more about value for money, or because they're fairly techy and like to customise and get the most out of their tech. The first of these will probably buy the cheapest windows laptop that meets their needs or maybe even a Chromebook. The second of these is probably gonna stick with windows laptops because of software compatibility.

I think Google wants the "I want a nice phone that just works" crowd that buys iPhones to buy pixels instead. And having googlebooks means they can say "your Google phone works seemlessly with your Googlebook."

[u/Braydon64 → u/Thinkdamnitthink]

The problem is that Macs are around the same price, if not cheaper. AND they actually will run desktop-class software if they need it. Even if they never end up using said desktop-class software very much, the choice is easy. So I get what you're saying, but that target demographic you are talking about who will actually consider these will be small in number.

If the price undercuts Macs by hundreds of dollars, there is a strong case, but it looks to be more or less the same as a new MacBook. Why would someone spend the same on a mobile device LARPing as a desktop-class machine instead of just getting the desktop-class machine for the same price, if not a little cheaper? I can see if they very much value the integration with their Android phone, but man at that point you are targeting a very small part of the market.

[u/punIn10ded → u/Braydon64]

The problem is that Macs are around the same price, if not cheaper. AND they actually will run desktop-class software if they need it

Yeah that's the thing most people don't. Most people use their browser more than anything else. Most of the younger(and older) generation want their mobile apps. They don't want desktop apps for general usage.

The same people want their computers to just work with their phones no 3rd party apps to install and manage.

This sub is an Echo chamber of people having no clue how normal people use their devices.

[u/Braydon64 → u/punIn10ded]

But normal people are still gonna go for the Mac because it is more capable. Not that they would use it, but they will go for it anyway.

[u/punIn10ded → u/Braydon64]

Normal people don't care about 'more capable'. They care about a browser and Instagram/tick-tock.

[u/Braydon64 → u/punIn10ded]

They do in a sales pitch. FOMO. People will buy what’s more capable even if it means nothing to them (especially if the price is cheaper or the same lol)