Got an Android Phone? Google Launches Googlebook Laptops From $899

Google has introduced Googlebooks, a new class of laptop built on one bet: Android phone owners want the same tight phone-to-computer link that iPhone users have long had with the Mac.

Five laptops, from $899

The platform was teased in May and detailed in New York last week. Five compliant machines went on sale today — one each from HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Asus — running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite or Intel’s Core Ultra 3. MediaTek supports the platform too, but no model uses its new chip yet.

Preorders opened today and the laptops reach shelves on October 4. Acer’s Googlebook 14 costs $899, the Dell XPS $999, and the HP, Lenovo and Asus models $1,299 each; every purchase includes a year of Google AI Pro with 5 TB of storage.

The standard requires premium materials, 16 GB of RAM, more than 45 TOPS, a touchscreen, a backlit keyboard, a haptic trackpad, Dolby Atmos speakers, 14 hours of battery life and 10 years of updates. Each machine carries the Glowbar, an LED strip that glows when you talk to Gemini.

Between Android and ChromeOS

Googlebook merges Android’s mobile-first OS with ChromeOS; Chromebooks, Google says, will keep serving schools and budget buyers. Apps fall into three tiers — “better on the web”, “optimized for desktop” and “made for desktop” like desktop Chrome — and around 20, including CapCut and Adobe Photoshop, have reached the top two.

Pairing with an Android phone moves Wi-Fi networks, passwords, messages, contacts and photos across. Google cites more than 20,000 Play Store titles, and buyers get a year of Nvidia’s GeForce Now since AAA games cannot be downloaded. “Our first step is to focus on the Android community,” said Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem.

Gemini in the pointer and the keyboard

Most headline features are AI-driven: desktop widgets come from a prompt to Gemini, as on Android 17. Magic Pointer lets you wiggle the cursor over anything for contextual actions — adding an invitation to your calendar, identifying a dog’s breed or flagging a phishing email. Rambler, the Pixel 11 dictation engine, drops filler words and formats text in a chosen tone.

Continuity runs through the system: Files search understands queries such as “dog” and looks through the phone, “Continue on” hands off mobile tasks, and app casting streams phone-only apps like DoorDash to the desktop. iPhone owners get a “Link to iOS” app with fewer features.