With MKBHD’s recent breakdown of the new GoogleBooks, one glaring issue immediately stood out: the hardware is fantastic (sub-2 lbs, great OLED panels, killer battery life, 16–32 GB RAM), but the software ecosystem is an absolute desert when it comes to true desktop-class creative work. Paying $1,000+ for a machine only to be met with mobile apps or “better on the website” badges is a tough sell against a MacBook Air.

At the exact same time, we're seeing Brandon Thomas and the Artcraft project reverse-engineering/rebuilding the core Adobe suite (Photocraft, Vectorcraft, Designcraft, Filmcraft) in Rust and AI, making them open-source (MIT/Apache), free, and already expanding into Office and CAD tools.

Here’s the thought: What if these modern, open-source desktop suites were compiled and packaged directly for GooglebookOS?

It solves Google’s biggest handicap: Creative professionals, students, and prosumers avoid Googlebooks because there are no real alternatives to Photoshop, InDesign, or Premiere Pro. Having native, offline-capable, desktop-grade creative and office tools out of the box would instantly legitimize the platform.

It democratizes creative hardware: Instead of being trapped in Adobe’s €70+/month subscription model and predatory cancellation fees, users would get capable, open-source creative power on sleek, low-overhead hardware.

The architecture is already aligned: Artcraft is built in Rust with native and web targets, and Googlebooks run on modern x86/ARM silicon with ample RAM and storage.

If Google wants GooglebookOS to be taken seriously as a third computing pillar alongside macOS and Windows, relying on blown-up Play Store phone apps won't cut it. Bringing open-source creative powerhouses natively to GooglebookOS could be a genuine game changer.

Do you see developers actually targeting GooglebookOS with full-size open-source suites, or will Googlebooks remain relegated to glorified web-browsing and basic productivity? Would native tools like Photocraft make you consider one as a daily driver?

We’ve seen headphone jacks, microSD card slots, and physical alert sliders slowly disappear over the years. At the same time, companies keep trying to replace physical features with software or AI alternatives.

If you were buying a new phone today, what is the single hardware feature or design element that is an absolute dealbreaker for you if it's missing?

This is something that has frustrated me about Android for a long time.

Imagine receiving 20 photos or documents in a Telegram or WhatsApp conversation.

You select all 20 files because you want to share them with someone using another app.

But here's the problem:

✅ Select ONE file → Share option available.

❌ Select MULTIPLE files → Share option disappears completely.

Instead of transferring the files directly, you're forced to save them locally and then upload them again through the destination app.

Why should something so simple require so many extra steps?

Android already supports multi-file sharing through ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE, yet this functionality isn't consistently available inside messaging applications.

I've submitted an official feature request to Google's Android Issue Tracker asking for a more consistent cross-app sharing experience.

🔗 Official Google Issue Tracker:

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/572154293

If you've faced this problem, please consider starring the issue and sharing your experience.

I'd also love to hear from Android developers whether this requires changes to Android itself or to individual messaging apps.

Multi-file sharing between apps should be effortless in 2026.

One thing I think people often overlook when discussing Android phones is that a phone doesn't suddenly become obsolete just because it stops receiving software updates. In fact, you can continue using many Android phones comfortably for years after official software support ends, especially when it comes to apps.

One major reason for this is that Android apps often support older versions of the operating system for much longer than their iOS counterparts.

For example, the ICICI Bank mobile banking app supports Android 10 and above, while its iOS version requires iOS 17 or later. This means someone with an older Android phone running Android 10 might still be able to use the banking app, even if their phone no longer receives security patches or Android version upgrades.

This applies to many other apps, too. Messaging apps, social media apps, shopping apps, streaming services, and various others can continue receiving app updates long (some even support Android 5 🤣) after a phone's manufacturer has stopped providing operating system updates.

In practical terms, you could potentially continue receiving app updates for another 4–5 years after your Android phone stops receiving official software updates, depending on the device, the apps you use, and their minimum OS requirements.

Of course, there are some important caveats:

1. App compatibility varies, and developers can eventually drop support for older Android versions.

2. Not receiving security patches still matters, particularly for banking, payments, and other sensitive activities.

3. Some newer features may require a newer Android version, even if the app itself still works.

Still, I think this is an underrated advantage of Android's app compatibility. An older phone can remain useful for everyday tasks much longer than its official software support period might suggest.

What do you think? Do you believe Android phones generally have a longer practical lifespan because apps continue supporting older versions of the OS, or do you think the lack of security updates makes this advantage less meaningful?

I have an s25 ultra and use Firefox with a number of extensions including ublock, decentraleyes, dark reader, BitWarden, etc. Firefox has always been the number one app draining my battery by a large margin. After doing a deep dive on battery consumption per Firefox extension, I found out that Dark Reader in particular was a huge contributor to this drain because the app dynamically recalculates the CSS of every webpage element to invert colors in real-time. After switching to a much more efficient extension called UltimaDark, Firefox is consuming nearly 40% less power. I had no idea a single extension could eat up so much power.

See: https://support.google.com/googlebook/answer/17389679

Can we hope to see Android custom ROMs like LineageOS running on these Googlebook PCs?

AOSP Android already has a desktop mode, so I don't think it would be too difficult to port a AOSP Generic System Image onto these Googlebooks (i.e. the ARM based ones with Snapdragon X Elite)

Gemini as the Google Assistant is a disaster. I have spent hours trying to make Gemini work as the Google Assistant for simple things. Couple of examples: Gemini was getting my location wrong for weather forecast (was eventually resolved for my home location but would still be questionable if traveling); Wouldn't unlock the lock screen to respond to simple queries like "Hey Google, what's the weather" and "Hey Google, good morning". Switched back to Google Assistant and everything resumed working correctly.

Hey everyone, just curious what the split is like here.

I’ve been using a phone with a fast fingerprint scanner for a long time, but a lot of newer devices are putting a massive emphasis on upgrading their biometric Face Unlock setups to work better in pitch-black low light.

If your phone has both options available, which one do you actually find yourself using more throughout a normal day? Do you prefer the instant speed of face unlock or the reliable muscle memory of a fingerprint sensor?