After premiering a new AI-powered laptop called Googlebook in May, Google announced Monday that the new device is now available for pre-order for $899.
Aimed to provide a step up from traditional Chromebooks, Googlebook runs on Android OS with a desktop version of the Chrome browser and other familiar ChromeOS elements. But the real appeal of the new device is that it brings Gemini’s latest features prominently in a new format: a laptop.
Google is offering laptops with unique features like AI-powered cursors, vibe-coded widgets, and support for AI-enhanced dictation. The latter is a feature called Rambler that organizes messy, rambling brain dumps into readable text.
The move is a bet that AI, and Google’s Gemini in particular, could be attractive enough to get people to buy new laptops equipped with AI, rather than installing it or running it through a desktop app accessed through a browser. Additionally, these devices could eventually replace Chromebooks, potentially connecting millions of former Chromebook customers to Gemini AI.
With Googlebook, Google is reinventing the “point-and-click” experience of desktop computing and incorporating elements of AI. In other words, the cursor acts as a conduit to Gemini. The company suggests a variety of ways you can use this, including highlighting content on web pages that Gemini interacts with, telling Gemini to check whether the email you hover over is suspicious, or selecting images and telling Gemini to visualize them together.
In reality, this feature is not much different from Android’s “Circle to Search”. This allows smartphone owners to connect to Google Search (which includes AI, of course) using gestures such as circling, highlighting, and tapping. While it’s a clever way to take advantage of how people use their phones, Circle to Search itself didn’t cause a mass exodus to Android.
Similarly, AI pointers, or Magic Cursors, are unlikely to be Googlebook’s main selling point, especially now that there are AI agents that can take over your computer and browser to perform tasks.
However, Google’s Rambler may be one of the best AI features in this upgrade, as it fills a surprisingly useful need. However, this is also not a good reason to buy a new device. It feels more like a nice-to-have feature than a necessity.
The Vibe coding widget is also a nice little addition. Other Googlebook features like Gemini Spark and Gemini Live also don’t require any special new hardware.
What’s even more interesting about Googlebook is that it appears to be part of Google’s long-term plan to capture a large portion of the K-12 market, which currently relies on Chromebooks, and push toward the company’s Gemini AI. Google says there are approximately 50 million Chromebooks in schools, used by students and educators.
In May, the company told TechCrunch that current Chromebooks will continue to be supported, but that many users will be able to migrate to the new Googlebook experience in the future.
The $899 device includes 5TB of cloud storage, 12 months of Google AI Pro with Gemini Advanced tools, and 3 months of YouTube Premium, Adobe Photoshop, and more. Google says these devices will receive regular updates for up to 10 years.
Googlebook pre-orders are now available at Google Store, Best Buy, and other retailers. The device will go on sale in the US on October 4th and in Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Australia on October 5th.
The flagship devices in the new range are manufactured by Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo using materials such as aluminum, magnesium alloy, and carbon fiber. It features up to a 2.8K OLED display, tactile glass trackpad, and backlit keyboard. Under the hood, it runs on Intel and Qualcomm processors combined with a dedicated NPU. Google says the device will offer up to 14 hours of battery life.
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