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Google is ready to take a swing at laptops… again. The company has had a lot of success in phones, but it has struggled to parlay that into an effective strategy for larger screens. Chromebooks have been fine as a budget option, but it seems like Google has accepted they’ll never compete with macOS or Windows. That’s where Googlebooks come in. These new Android-powered laptops are intended to be “real” computers, featuring premium hardware, on-device apps, and powerful development tools. After the Googlebook reveal at I/O this year, Google’s partners are now ready to sell you one. The first Googlebooks are available from several OEMs that have been making Chromebooks over the years, but don’t expect Chromebook pricing. There’s only one model under a grand, and the rest are well above that. Familiar hardware The bulk of Chromebooks have been budget machines, and they looked the part. Googlebooks, however, feature bright OLED screens, metal builds, big haptic trackpads, and the Glowbar. All the machines have this illuminated bar on the lid, but it doesn’t do much for now. It lights up when the device boots and can display battery level, but Google says it’s going to release an API for developers to add more features. Across the full lineup, Google says you can expect 16GB of RAM with 32GB upgrades for some models. At launch, the machines will run either a Snapdragon X Elite or an Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) chip. Both platforms have an NPU capable of 45 TOPS of on-device AI performance, and all the designs are fanless. Regardless of the exact model, Google says you can expect up to 14 hours of video playback and 16 hours of web browsing.
document fetched 2026-09-22 02:53 · canonical https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/googlebook-laptops-launch-october-4-starting-at-899-preorders-for-five-models-live-today