// 9TO5GOOGLE — MOBILE & WEB

Googlebook hands-on: What makes a laptop, a laptop? [Video]

Published: 09/21/2026, 01:02 PM

After a protracted wait, the first wave of Googlebooks is now official. Having spent a brief period testing, here’s what it’s like to use one. I didn’t quite spend as much time with the software as my colleague Abner, so for a full set of impressions on these laptops running Googlebook OS, please read his extensive thoughts. This is a little more focused on the hardware side, with a sprinkle of software. The good news right up top: My initial worries have almost completely been washed away, save a few minor complaints about two specific devices; there’s more here to like than I ever expected. Notice I said “almost” as there are still concerns in the back of my mind, but despite lots of, I guess, negativity surrounding and preceding this launch, the entire lineup of Googlebooks has exceeded my fairly low expectations. For more video content, subscribe to 9to5Google on YouTube. I do believe that this is largely due to my mixed experience with various Chromebooks across the entire price spectrum, combined with the ultimately lackluster or barebones “Desktop mode” that was added to Pixel devices over the past year. This time, we have fewer SKUs to deal with, and of the five Googlebook devices, there appear to be fewer pinch points – save the pricing. These are not going to be cheap, with prices “starting at” $899 and, in most cases, are going to be more expensive. That is likely where a portion of you are going to stop reading and just dismiss these entirely. I can completely understand why. Without glossing over or forgiving the frankly inflated asking price, I do believe this comes with one distinct benefit. There is less compromise in quality, which is something that worried me, given the mixed history of Chromebooks and the pitfalls of the cheapest model becoming the flag-bearer for the “default” experience. I spent around 45 minutes prodding and poking the lineup, and there are two standouts. Right off the bat, the Dell XPS and the HP Googlebook were the most impressive launch devices here. That said, each of the five laptops has its own merits. ASUS’ Googlebook, Lenovo’s Googlebook 15, and Acer’s Googlebook 14 offer, in my opinion, are marginally lesser but still fairly decent takes on the first wave of hardware. The Lenovo in particular takes some design cues from previous Chromebooks and pairs with a bright HDR display. It was really easy to see despite lots of glare and jostling in the testing area.