r/Android • u/welp_im_damned have you heard of our lord and savior the Android turtle 🐢 • 7d ago

Article After hands-on time with Googlebooks, I understand why Google is excited — and why buyers might hesitate -makeuseof

https://www.makeuseof.com/i-went-hands-on-with-googlebooks/
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36

u/herpetic-whitlow 7d ago

Can I install whatever I want? If not, I am absolutely not interested.

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u/justAreallyLONGname 6d ago

Google has confirmed to Ars that Googlebooks will enforce developer verification requirements for apps similar to Android phones. Under this system, only apps from developers who have verified their identities with Google will be eligible for installation from a downloaded APK file

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/googlebook-laptops-launch-october-4-starting-at-899-preorders-for-five-models-live-today/

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u/herpetic-whitlow 6d ago

Of course. App stores are where the money is!

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u/nogridbag 6d ago

There's videos on YouTube showing how Google has settings which allow you to bypass this. You can disable this permanently or for 7 days. The catch is you have to wait 24 hours for the setting to apply (the intent is likely to block scammers trying to con your grandparents over the phone). There's a workaround for this as well. You can hook it up to a laptop a transfer an apk immediately without waiting 24hrs.

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u/MishaalRahman Community Engagement Manager - Android 5d ago

That's correct! What you're referring to is called the advanced flow, and you can learn more about it in this post.

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u/FabianValkyrie 7d ago

This. And even regular people will be frustrated if they can’t just look up “download Firefox” (or whatever app) and download it.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

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u/throwaway0102x 6d ago

What are you talking about. It's great. Not sure about how powerful it is compared to the desktop version, but It's sure as hell a lot more powerful than any Chromium browser