iPhones and Macs are like two peas in a pod. Apple’s hardware synergy means you can launch iPhone apps right from the macOS desktop, respond to texts without picking up your iPhone, and even copy text on one platform and paste it on the other. That kind of seamless connectivity does not natively exist for Android phone owners at the operating system level.
Google’s trying to change that with Googlebooks, a new class of laptop. First teased in May, the company finally shared more details about the new OS at a media-only event in New York City last week. Like with Android, hardware manufacturers can make their own Googlebooks, provided they hit specific standards set by Google.
Today marks the launch of five new computers that comply with the Googlebooks standard, one each from HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and Asus. These machines are powered by either Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip or Intel’s Core Ultra 3 (MediaTek also supports the Googlebook platform with its new Dimensity CX C10 Max chip, but none of the new laptops use the chip yet).
Preorders open today, and the machines hit store shelves on October 4, starting at $899. Every purchase includes a full year of Google AI Pro service with 5 terabytes of storage.
Here are the new laptops, all of which are clamshells except the Acer, which is a 2-in-1 machine:
Some of the standards Google has set include using “premium materials,” like aluminum, magnesium, or carbon fiber, to make them lightweight. They need at least 16 GB of RAM, deliver more than 45 tera operations per second (TOPS), a touchscreen (LCD or OLED), a backlit keyboard, a haptic trackpad, Dolby Atmos speakers, studio-quality microphones with noise cancellation, and at least 14 hours of battery life. Googlebooks will receive 10 years of software updates.
They must feature the Glowbar—the signature LED strip on the laptop’s exterior that identifies the machine as a Googlebook. It’s a callback to the glowbar Google used on its original Chromebook Pixel. (Speaking of which, Google hasn’t shared whether it’s making its own Googlebook under its Made by Google Pixel hardware division.) Developers can access the Glowbar to customize the lights to specific actions in their apps, and there’s also an Easter egg app consumers can unlock to customize the light color and animation themselves. Like HiLight introduced on the latest Pixel phones, the Glowbar will illuminate when you talk to Gemini.