Marques Brownlee uploaded a video breaking down the Googlebook. He uses a Pixel as one of his two phones, so I was curious if I missed anything in my original assessment of the new laptop line. I don't think I did.

One angle I did not consider was that the only way to get applications on these machines is the Google Play Store. That means you are at the whims of mobile apps and Android's tablet efforts if there is not a newly dedicated desktop version. The experience is so splintered, Google has five compatibility labels.

  • Made for desktop
  • Optimized for desktop
  • Compatible with desktop
  • Better on the website
  • Built for mobile

"Better on the website" is both a sick burn and probably true for most apps targeting potential Googlebook users. Also, I guess every app in the Play Store has an ESRB rating because that's the only explanation for Adobe Acrobat Reader: Edit PDF being rated "E for Everyone."

261009_MKBHD_Googlebook Optimized 261009_MKBHD_Googlebook Adobe E Rating

It turns out that Googlebook OS seems to be a thin wrapper around Android 17, because the device details lists the Android version. And my goodness, it has a toggle for "auto-rotate" which these laptops don't even support. I think Google's prompt to Gemini when making the OS was "Make Android 17 into a desktop OS."

261009_MKBHD_Googlebook Android version 261009_MKBHD_Googlebook Rotate

While I still think the hardware is ugly, it does seem nice. It's thin and light. The screens sound premium. But these machines seem like they should only be bought by the most diehard Pixel users. Even then, I don't think this "brand-new category of laptop" will survive very long.