Goodbye Chromebook, hello Googlebook: Google’s AI laptop launches this fall
You'll know it's a Googlebook if it has a glowing light strip on the lid
💻 Google has announced its Chromebook successor: the Googlebook
🤖 It relies on an Android-based OS to power Gemini Intelligence, a more powerful version of the AI system
👀 It’s similar to what Chrome OS used to be, except rooted in AI instead of a simple web browser
🏭 The first Googlebooks to hit the market will be from companies like Lenovo, HP, and Asus
📅 Googlebooks will hit the market this fall
Google is jumping back into the world of laptops. After Chromebooks took the low-end laptop market by storm over 10 years ago, the company has developed a new kind of laptop to replace it: the Googlebook, a far more intelligent take on laptops that’s centered around Gemini. It runs an Android-based operating system and integrates Google’s new Gemini Intelligence experience, which promises to be smarter and more contextual to you.
Details on the exact software Googlebooks use remain unclear, as Google hasn’t shared a name for the OS just yet (although it is, indeed, using the rumored Aluminium OS, which remains the system’s codename). We do know it supports all of the apps you can find in the Play Store, and you can use your phone from a Googlebook through a built-in mirroring feature, similar to iPhone Mirroring in macOS.
Where the real magic happens is in Gemini Intelligence, which is at the core of the Googlebook experience. Google relies on AI for a lot of what makes its new laptops useful. It’s even built into the cursor; jiggle it around and you’ll see AI light it up with contextual suggestions. Hover over a date, and you’ll have the option to add it to your calendar. Select a couple of images, and Gemini will help you blend them together (helpful if you need to visualize how furniture will look in your home).
Other Gemini Intelligence features, like creating custom widgets, will also be available. With this feature, you can ask Gemini to make a widget with specific weather information, travel plans for a specific trip, countdowns to dates, and more. You can then place them around your home screen so you can quickly reference them. Gemini Intelligence also comes to the keyboard for quickly filling in information, and you can use multi-model features like having Gemini book trips or order DoorDash on your behalf.
All of this will be built into laptops with premium hardware, according to Google. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be expensive, but it also doesn’t sound like they’ll be budget-friendly enough for schools or younger users.
You’ll know you’re looking at a Googlebook when you see its glowing light strip on the lid, which will activate whenever you trigger Gemini. Google says it’s partnering with manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, Asus, and more to develop the first batch of Googlebooks. The first models will start shipping this fall. We’ll likely learn more about them leading up to then, so stay tuned.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.