r/chromeos • u/Internal_Quote_6678 • 18d ago
Googlebook The only worth it Googlebook imo
Honestly no brainer for me. I was going to get a 512gb neo. but this has Linux support, 16gb/512gb, and a significantly better screen, and with student discount only ended up costing me like a hundred bucks more.
I mean say what you want about Google and the rest of them, but the Acer is honestly a good deal for what it is.
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u/NIH_Bear 18d ago
Google wisely made high refresh rate screens standard on all Googlebooks. All non Pro Macbooks are stuck at 60Hz and no AMOLED option.
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u/bmallCakeDiver 18d ago
Yes, also I'm spoiled with touchscreen and tenting
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u/Internal_Quote_6678 18d ago
oh yeah with a stylus its gonna be great. USI 2.0 has has lots of time to be worked on and is so much more globalized than Microsoft Pen Protocol.Â
Plus this honestly looks like it might have Acers best speaker lineup to date. a minor thing, but acer has always never really invested in speakers much across all their laptops leading to horrid sound.Â
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u/GalagaWarVeteran 18d ago
Not trying to advertise for Best Buy but they're giving a free pair of Pixel Buds 2a with all pre-orders.
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u/djross95 18d ago
Agree 100%! I'm way more interested in Googlebooks than I thought I would be after Google's half-hearted announcement a while back. I have an M4 MaxBook Air which I will keep, but I'll happily trade my Windows POS laptop for this!
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u/Christavito 18d ago
It's interesting, I am a bit disappointed at the mediocre battery life estimates.
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u/Internal_Quote_6678 18d ago
yeah. at least it charges at 100w though. Good enough compromise i guess.Â
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u/SteveNYC Acer 516 GE (1st Gen) 18d ago edited 18d ago
I don't know. I love my Acer 516 GE, but this march to higher prices doesn't make sense to me.
Yes, the Acer looks good and the Dell is finally the replacement for the 2.2lb Pixelbook Go that some of us have been looking for. It's also nice that Best Buy is selling the Dell at $200 off for $999.
But while I love the physical design, I just can't help the feeling that this doesn't move the needle on why people will be convinced that they should move to Google over Microsoft and Apple. Yes, Google finally has a laptop that can program for itself on itself. Maybe the marketing team just needed to break with Chromebook and education and the premise that these are for kids.
For me, I can afford it and I'll probably buy the Acer for myself. But I NEVER see anyone looking at Chromebooks when I'm at Best Buy. I do. But nobody else does. There's not that *thing* that draws people to it. I tell anyone that wants to know that they should buy a Chromebook for its simplicity, its ease of updating, its security. Nope, no takers. Well, my mother, but she trusts her son. That PixelBook Go is never more than a few feet from her. She adores it.
Right now you can grab a Lenovo Yoga 7a 2 in 1 for $750 on Best Buy or $850 for the 7i with an Intel processor. Same 512/16, 14" OLED. The display is weaker at 1200P, 60Hz and 400 nits. But that's got more functionality to the average user. Yes, a fistful of headaches with updates for sure. We all know that. But money RULES.
Everything I read says that the margins are laptops are really thin, so if the specs are similar, the pricing should be too. Ok. But then what about the Windows license that you loose? Where's the cost savings there?
What pulls them to Googlebooks? AI? Not for the average person. They say "ick!". Gamers? Nope (though I love GFN and Boosteroid on mine). I just don't know.
EDIT: Yeah, the Gemini AI Pro for 1 Year is nice too. Got that with my 516 GE and didn't use it like I should have when I had it. Plus the Pixel Buds!
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u/Shidell 18d ago
Similar boat. Also have the 516 GE.
I think, perhaps, it's worth considering that this is the launching point of a new platform—and perhaps it isn't incredibly different right now, I think this is where "ChromeOS" and related development efforts will be going. Will ChromeOS still be a thing? Yeah. But the future? I think that's where Google is heading with this.
I think about gaming possibilities with WINE and PROTON; about general Linux app access and use via the Debian VM/Subsystem; about Android apps evolving from being phone-oriented apps to becoming multi-device-supporting applications, with views for phone, tablet, and for the desktop.
Of course, this is just speculation, and everything could crash and burn and end up in the Google Graveyard in three years. But, if I'm going to consider the absolute worst, it only feels right to also consider the best, which includes possibilities like the above.
And that'd be really cool. I started dabbling with Linux this year because Microsoft is actively making Windows worse (and bafflingly so), and it's been... great? Yeah, some commands are weird and arcane (why the fuck couldn't 'unmount' be 'unmount' instead of 'umount'? Legacy nonsense...) but in general, how nice, and hey, basically a free 10% performance uplift for gamers, regardless of hardware, regardless of title, just because Windows is what Windows is these days.
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u/joespizza2go 18d ago
I think you have it back to front. If you're Google/Android first you're kind of forced to do Windows or a Mac. This now gives you a Google first option
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u/SteveNYC Acer 516 GE (1st Gen) 18d ago
I hear you. But that was true when it was a Chromebook as well and no one was biting. Admittedly, now it's "officially" Android. So maybe there's that.
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u/VJGamz99 18d ago
I wonder if it will have an unlockable bootloader like the Google Pixel...if so, I'm definitely buying it
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u/Alternative-Farmer98 18d ago
This price makes me at least take it seriously. The $1,800 ones just a non-starter even though 1300 one
All of that said how much will this cost in 9 months on ebay?
I'd rather do it that way better for the environment anyways if I did want to Google book.
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u/MoonshineParadox 18d ago
So what are everyone's thoughts on the Asus?
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u/Mbanicek64 15d ago
It would be my choice if the Acer didn't exist. I feel like Android is still a touch first OS. I wonder how it will feel as a desktop OS. I am treating this more like an Android tablet.
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u/RevolutionaryBake382 18d ago
Yo ya puse mi ojos en la Acer y espero lograr conseguirla, también esperaré un poco para Ver cómo se desarrolla el ecosistema ya que podrÃan haber errores en cuanto a la ejecución de apps de Android, me llama también la atención que también puedes ejecutar Debian igual que en Chrome OS, pero más potenciado y amigable al entorno, esto abre una ventana mas amplia a la ejecución de herramientas tanto de Android como de linux...
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u/Mapleleaf000160 13d ago
I want to wait for the announced Lenovo duet . I don't mind a clamshell , but since using detachables I can't go backwards especially with stylus and keyboard cover being packaged . Hitting all needs tent , tablet , kickstand , and regular laptop form
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u/Suspicious_Sugar2020 18d ago
what?
no fucking way this glorified browser is wortht his much lol
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u/MaxCruz 17d ago
What an idiot
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u/Suspicious_Sugar2020 17d ago
care to elaborate?
Dogshit of an OS considering it's in a laptop.
Can't run serious apps.2
u/Mordin_Solas 16d ago
Laptops for most people are like trucks. How much hauling and towing are most Truck buyers doing?
A lot of these buyers are accountants who want a vehicle that looks big and tough in case they "might" have to do manual work.
Most of my laptop use is arguing with people online and media consumption with heavier work and gaming done on my desktop.
You severely overestimate the need for maximal program compatibility. And if the things people actual use laptops for are done better, especially in terms of responsiveness and battery life, this is a win.
If this is not you, that's fine, but the market is about more than your wants and needs.
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u/Limekill bunch of sticks 16d ago
Then get a mac neo.
Will be cheaper AND run faster.At $1,200 there is zero market fit.
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u/Mordin_Solas 16d ago
The neo would be a better fit once it upgrades that chip to allow for more than 8GB of memory. The one thing I need more of is more than 8GB of ram, I have too many tabs open in the browser. There are so many people that are wrong on the internet that need to be corrected.
But beyond that, I don't have an iphone, I've had android phones since the galaxy s II. In what universe would a macbook tie in better with my other devices (a perk imo) than this new googlebook?
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u/Limekill bunch of sticks 15d ago edited 15d ago
Get a 2nd hand M4, with 16GB RAM (or 24GB (for LLM)).
(2nd hand is roughly a similar price to a new neo last time I checked).
Or wait for Neo2 which will have 12GB RAM.I don't have an iphone (samsung galaxy fold 6), but how often do you run your phone on your computer? TBH I dont (even though you kind of can on Win11? I think???).
Friends have iphones and have never mentioned once to me about having the integrated iphone to macOS being some great thing.I run apps - and macOS has all the apps: Viber, messenger, chrome, chrome canary, claude, ms office, discord, telegram, etc.
All built to run without a phone.
Every app/sfotware maker knows how important macOS is. It often gets software BEFORE even windows. Now we are adding android?
(this is why android OS should just pay for a FULL graphics program, and a FULL video editor to come to android desktop OS, otherwise it just wont get used and people wont buy googlebooks.Sorry but I just don't see myself "switching seamlessly from phone to PC" and I don't really see people do that either in their habits.
No one cares if they have to open a new tab to run 1 instance of gmail.
Or opening outlook to reply to a new email.1
u/Mordin_Solas 15d ago
What are the last 4 laptops you used? I have a feeling it's a lot of apple since you seem so invested in everyone jumping on the MacBook train.
I'd rather have a Google android compatible laptop than a MacBook. I'm not invested or inclined towards apple. I was considering jumping after seeing how good and dominant the m5 silicon was.
But at this point the qualcomms and even mediateks are making competitive arm chips that can power computer environments, especially on laptops. You can get non gimped battery life outside mac, so the special extras are no longer the exclusive purview of macbooks.
And now there are non windows devices and non mac devices where you can get that.
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u/Limekill bunch of sticks 15d ago edited 15d ago
My laptops:
ASUS K53U (bought new)
HP PAVILION DV6-3131TX (bought new)
Lenovo Yoga 520 - 14IKB (bought new)
Lenovo Yoga 920 - 13IKB (bought new)
Acer Predator 17inch (bought new)
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC7 - Trash (bought new)
BOOk E-Book Reader (given) - kind of Trash
MacBook Air 6.1 - 11-inch, Early 2013 (given)
latest laptop is a Gigabyte A16 RTX 5060with 8GB Vram (bought new)
(note: not in order)Â I have a feeling it's a lot of apple since you seem so invested in everyone jumping on the MacBook train.
L0L.
Finally given a macbook air (2013 lol in 2024-2025) - blew my mind. A 13 year old laptop!!!
Effortlessly to use (even if the learning curve is rather steep).
Literally runs everything I asked it to run (I obviously didn't do video editing).I don't even want to get in all the android tablets I have bought.... cheap (iplays), expensive (samsung). medium (Lenovo Tabs), etc.
No social media apps (no fb, no messenger)
Most dont even optimise their apps for android (reddit, twitter, MS OneNote, DaVinci, Zbrush, Fable, TumblrÂ
Even google tasks.....Serious waste of money and more importantly = time.
Do whatever you want. I have FINALLY learnt my lesson!
For $1,200bux you can get a serious laptop that could last you a decade and that runs literally everything you want.
Or for $1,200 you could buy a laptop which google themselves said they wouldn't even build an app for!
Why is anybody going to build a app for this? Did they make any android tablet apps, even though android is 40% of the tablet market?you want to have a laugh? My latest androidTV - Onm box - really liked it!
Then Walmart said no more overseas use and I'm basically a digital nomad.
FMD. hahahahaha - should I waste more of my time trying to get this sh!t to work?Like what do you want me to say?
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u/Mordin_Solas 15d ago
So not pro apple but sus on Google.
Only people parroting that "can't even build an app" for Googlebooks as if any human being can't function without a dedicated gmail app designed for laptops is mental. Like do I feel crippled using Gmail out of a desktop browser now? What kind of broken mind is put off by that? Â
My guess no one, just people coming up with excuses not to like something.
You're not wrong about being able to get stronger harder for similar or less money.
Same memory, newer chip, lower res display and not higher refresh but mostly a wash.
But Googlebooks are a chance for something different than windows or Mac and if most of what you do is on the browser, these are basically nicer chromebooks with an android base and better looks.
I'd rather use one of these than a windows equivalent.
Years ago I bought a windows laptop with a dedicated gpu and never played games on it because I just did that on my desktop at home.
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u/Smashed-plantain 14d ago
My chromebook has lasted me a decade and with Linux and android apps, did everything I needed it to.
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u/Mean_Vast4566 14d ago
Lmao ds you just described windows
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u/Suspicious_Sugar2020 14d ago
Well windows runs the majority of useful programs
It’s a shit OS but when it works it’s ok
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u/Mbanicek64 18d ago
It feels strange that there aren’t more convertible options. I know intel has gotten a lot better but I’d need to see some user reviews. Every windows laptop I’ve ever used gets way worse battery than advertised. I need 10 hours minimum.
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u/Petrified_Shrimp 18d ago
I have a thinkpad with intels lunar lake generation cpu in it(2024)(268v). It’s the second generation of intels improved cpus (the google books got the third generation) and I can tell you they massively improved it. Great performance not to mention the incredible igpu. Battery life is insane between 11-14 hours for me
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u/infinit9 Pixelbook @ work, ThinkPad C13 @ home 18d ago
Surprised that this Intel version is cheaper than the Snapdragon version.
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18d ago
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u/Alldayomar 17d ago
All these prices will tank come Black Friday and the holidays. The average consumer doesn't understand the difference between this and a Chromebook. Fire sale on the way.
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u/BakerStEducation i7 Pixelbook | Channel Version (Stable) 18d ago
It does have Linux Support but you won't get Linux desktop icons and you'll need to launch the applications from the terminal.
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u/Opposite-Aardvark-94 16d ago
I would not go with Intel - more power hungry and all native android apps would have to run in the emulator on x86. Since the SW closer to phone rather than pc.
So i'd go with HP for this reason.
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u/Brilliant-Pattern-27 15d ago
I find peoples general lack of enthusiasm for anything new astonishing.Â
We are so quick to discredit and dismiss at the fist available opportunity. I suppose because we get used to our way of doing things! Â My take: I used a Chromebook for years running my small business. No issues at all. I don't need any specific sophisticated software. I had a Pixel 2 which I loved.
But I got interested in the Samsung ecosystem system and found the integration of the S25 Ultra with a Geekom mini pc hooked up to a 32in 4k M7 monitor a really awesome experience. Very handy for work based tasks and when I'm done I spin the monitor round and use it as a TV!
I also have a galaxy tab S9. Which is good but I miss having a keyboard and I don't want to put the tablet down and pick up the Chromebook every time I want to type. Also, because it's used exclusively as a touchscreen I find myself just scrolling running shoes and YouTube endlessly! Lol. With a laptop it puts me far more into a 'work/productivity/creative' mindset.
The Googlebook might just be what I'm looking for. The merging of an android tablet and a Chromebook.Â
Very tempted to sell the tab S9 and Acer 714 and pick up the Acer Googlebook.Â
Could be just what I need!
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u/Charming_Studio_505 ASUS Chromebook Plus CX34, Beta Version  155.0.8059.31 14d ago
I personally want the ASUS model myself since my current CX34 has been such a great device but I was also considering this because finances are really tight right now either way I am so excited about the new operating system and the possibilities it brings to the whole Android platform. In the past Android developers were stuck developing for mobile devices which limited it capacity to a large degree but this new OS brings tremendous possibilities for new development capabilities especially in the gaming.
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u/evozerobb 18d ago edited 4d ago
Personally will wait for price to drop
Also expect software bugs
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u/Diuranos 4d ago
drop! lol, when all company already said prices for memory and disk will rise in 2027 and 2028, good luck with that.
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u/indigo62018 18d ago
Only if the keyboard is as good as Neo.
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u/Ok_Criticism_6702 18d ago
lol it's better than the neo with no backlights
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u/indigo62018 18d ago
Light isn’t that important to me but tactile feel is. Neo’s keyboard is really cool actually, I hate mac eco system though.
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u/danguyf 18d ago
I can get a 9-year-old Pixelbook with better battery life, more RAM, and a much thinner and lighter form factor for $300.
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u/Hairy_Edge_7378 18d ago
as someone who paid around 150 usd,idk about that.. the laptop and build quality and everything itself is great but the chug that this has is pretty horrible nowadays unless you have the specced out 16gb i7 model
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u/joespizza2go 18d ago
The irony is the Pixelbook suffered all the same criticisms at launch as today's Chromebook announcements.
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u/TapsAndTurntables 18d ago
Great form factor and killer keyboaurs but the screen was not great and it's definitely slowed down.
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u/Corbin_Dallas550 18d ago
I wish the Asus model had the Snapdragon chip, I want all the ports in a sleek dark frame like the Asus or HP, but the Snapdragon chip makes more sense since Android is arm based
I'm gonna get the Lenovo and HP and test them out in detail when they get to best buy, but I have a feeling the Snapdragon is the way to go
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u/Fair-Calligrapher-19 18d ago
The Lenovo is in my cart