Google has announced the Googlebook, a brand new category of laptop built around its Gemini AI. It’s the biggest rethink of the laptop since the Chromebook launched 15 years ago.
The headline feature is something called ‘Magic Pointer’. Wiggle your cursor over anything on screen and Gemini springs into action with contextual suggestions. Point at a date in an email and it offers to book a meeting. Select a photo of your sofa alongside one of a new rug and it visualises them together. It could be a gimmick, or it could be really useful… time will tell.
There’s also a feature called Create your Widget. You can prompt Gemini to build a personalised desktop dashboard pulling in data from Gmail, Google Calendar and the web. Planning a trip? It’ll pull your flights, hotels and restaurant bookings into one tidy spot. That does sound genuinely useful.
The Googlebook is also built to work hand-in-hand with your Android phone. You can run phone apps directly on your laptop without downloading anything. Ordering food, finishing a Duolingo lesson, or grabbing a file from your phone – it all happens without breaking the flow.
A feature called Quick Access lets you browse your phone’s files right from the laptop’s file browser. No cable and no syncing necessary.
Hardware is being handled by Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo.
Every Googlebook will have a distinctive “glowbar” – a coloured light strip that serves as the device’s signature look. Think of it as Google’s version of the Apple logo glow.
The OS itself combines Chrome, Google Play apps and what Google is calling an “intelligence system” – a step beyond a traditional operating system. Whether that distinction holds up remains to be seen. But the ambition here is clear: Google wants the Googlebook to feel less like a computer some intelligent AI-powered sidekick.
Pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet. Devices are expected to arrive this autumn, with more details coming later in the year.
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