Google announces the Googlebook, a new breed of Gemini PCs

Welcome to the world, Googlebook. Google announced the new eponymous category of AI laptops at the Android Show: I/O Edition on Tuesday. Think of it as the lovechild of a Chromebook and a Copilot+ PC, Microsoft's term for AI-designed Windows laptops.

"Over 15 years ago, we introduced the Chromebook, a laptop built for a cloud-first world," Google Senior Director Alex Kuscher said in a blog post. "Now, as computing shifts from an operating system to an intelligence system, we see an opportunity to rethink laptops again."

When the first models are released in the fall, Googlebooks will run Android apps like Chromebooks, but they'll place a heavier emphasis on features powered by Gemini, Google's AI assistant. Kuscher said Googlebooks are "the first laptops designed from the ground up for Gemini Intelligence."

It also sounds like Googlebooks will have a different operating system, one that's not ChromeOS. Google hasn't specified which one, just that it'll be "a modern OS that’s designed for Intelligence," wrote Kuscher. He's almost certainly talking about Project Aluminum, Google's rumored ChromeOS x Android mashup.

Chromebooks have been gaining more integrated AI tools in recent years, so it makes sense that Google is finally going full-send on proper AI PCs. Whether consumers actually want them is another story.

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Googlebook features

Googlebooks will support a "Magic Pointer" cursor feature that uses Gemini to understand and act upon onscreen content. You can activate it just by wiggling your cursor. "Point at a date in an email to set up a meeting, or select two images — like your living room and a new couch — to instantly visualize them together," said Kuscher, describing two hypothetical use cases.

Googlebooks will also have a "Create your Widget" tool that lets the user make custom widgets with Gemini prompts.

Google said the new laptops will integrate seamlessly with Android phones. While they can run Android apps themselves, you can also cast apps onto them from mobile devices without needing to download anything. Additionally, a "Quick Access" feature lets you view and search files on your phone right from a Googlebook.

Stay tuned for Googlebook hardware deets

Google is just teasing Googlebooks for now, so we don't have any concrete spec details or launch dates. But we do know they'll have a characteristic "glowbar" lightstrip on their lids, and that the first models will be made by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, per the announcement blog post. Kuscher goes on to note that "Every Googlebook will be built with premium craftsmanship and materials, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes."

Google's press materials also describe Googlebooks as having a "Featherweight Design" with "Heavyweight Power," so I'm thinking they'll be mid- to upper-range ultraportables.

Googlebooks will almost certainly be more expensive than most Chromebooks, which themselves have evolved from budget devices to more premium machines in recent years. The highest-end Chromebooks now sit between $750 and $1,000.

UPDATE: May. 12, 2026, 1:07 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with additional photos.