May 13, 2026
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has spent 15 years building laptops around its Chrome web browser. Now it's betting the next evolution gets built around its AI model.
On Tuesday, Google unveiled Googlebook (1), a new class of premium laptops the company describes as "the first laptops designed from the ground up for Gemini Intelligence." (2) The first models arrive this fall and they'll be made by the likes of Acer, Asus, Dell (NYSE: DELL), HP (NYSE: HPQ), and Lenovo.
Advertisement
Pricing has not yet been disclosed, but Moneywise did reach out to Google for further information and we'll update this story once we learn more.
The standout feature of the Googlebook is the Magic Pointer, a cursor co-developed with Google DeepMind that surfaces contextual suggestions when wiggled. So, for example, if you hover a date in an email, it'll offer to set up a meeting. Or, if you drag a photo of a sofa onto a picture of your living room, Gemini can render what that combination will look like.
"We thought, we can take Gemini Intelligence and make the pointer truly smart and intelligent," Alexander Kuscher, Google's senior director of Android tablets and laptops, told TechCrunch (3).
There's another feature called Create Your Widget, which builds custom desktop dashboards from a natural-language prompt. That can be flights, hotels, a countdown for a family reunion — any or all of it is assembled by Gemini from your Gmail, Google Calendar, and the web at large.
Notably, this isn't just a hardware shift. Googlebook doesn't run on ChromeOS, but rather on Android, possibly signaling a transition towards unifying its strategy around one operating system that can handle both mobile and desktop devices. In its announcement post, Google describes the shift as one "from an operating system to an intelligence system." (2)
Resetting Google's laptop strategy
The Chromebook, by today's standards, was a strange idea. Google handed out roughly 60,000 unbranded, rubberized prototypes (4) to testers back in December 2010, then released the first commercial models in June 2011, priced between $349 and $499. Early reviews were brutal. One critic called the Series 5, a Chromebook made by Samsung, "basically a browser with a keyboard." (5)
The strategy worked anyway, but mostly in classrooms. As of 2025 (notably before Apple released its Chromebook competitor, the MacBook Neo), Chromebooks held roughly 60% of the global K–12 device market (6), per IDC and Futuresource Consulting data. But one reason why Google is moving towards Android is because ChromeOS only claims less than 2% of the global desktop market (7), according to StatCounter.
Advertisement
Google also tried making premium laptops in the past, with the Pixelbook, but that project was shut down in September 2022 when Google dissolved the team behind a planned 2023 successor (8) amid broader cost cuts.
The increasingly crowded laptop market
Google isn't the first to try making laptops that are all about AI. Exactly two years ago, Microsoft introduced Copilot+ PCs (9) in May 2024, which were Windows computers that had their own on-board neural processing units capable of powering AI-related projects.
But Apple, as we noted above, is trying to eat Google's lunch at the entry level. The $600 MacBook Neo, which launched in March (10), is the cheapest Mac laptop Apple has ever sold and, per CEO Tim Cook, drove the company's "best launch week ever for first-time Mac customers" (11).
Pricing for Googlebook is not out, but Google used the word "premium" four times in its announcement post (12), a clear signal Googlebooks will likely sit above the sub-$300 classroom Chromebook.
A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch existing Chromebooks will keep receiving updates under current support commitments, with many "eligible to transition" (3) to the new experience, though specifics were not shared.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Android (1); Google Blog (2); TechCrunch (3); Wikipedia (4); Android Authority (5); About Chromebooks (6); StatCounter (7); The Verge (8); Microsoft (9); Apple (10); Macworld (11); Sherwood News (12)
You May Also Like
- Turning 50 with $0 saved for retirement? Most people don’t realize they’re actually just entering their prime earning decade. Here are 6 ways to catch up fast
- Inside a $1B real estate fund offering access to thousands of income-producing rental properties — with flexible minimums starting at $10
- Vanguard’s outlook on U.S. stocks is raising alarm bells for retirees. Here’s why and how to protect yourself
- Here are 5 easy ways to own multiple properties like Bezos and Beyoncé. You can start with $10 (and no, you don’t have to manage a single thing)
Dave Smith is the VP of Content at Wise Publishing and Editor-in-Chief at Moneywise and Money.ca. His work has also been published in Fortune, Business Insider, Newsweek, ABC News, and USA Today.
