Google opened pre-orders for Googlebook on September 21. It first showed the Gemini-based laptop line in May. Prices start at $899 at the Google Store, Best Buy and other retailers.
Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo build the first models on Intel and Qualcomm chips. Sales start October 4 in the U.S. and a day later in Canada, the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany and Australia. Each purchase includes a year of Google AI Pro, and Google promises software updates for up to 10 years.
The laptops run Android with the full Chrome browser. Paired with an Android phone, they can open its files and stream its apps in a window.
Gemini is worked into the desktop itself. Magic Pointer stays idle until the user wiggles the cursor, then points Gemini at whatever is on screen to, say, sort out a calendar or translate a passage. Rambler, a dictation tool, converts speech into structured text, down to headings and checklists.
TechCrunch reads the launch as Google wagering that AI alone can sell a laptop, and doubts the new features will do it. Magic Pointer works much like Circle to Search, Android's search gesture. That one didn't move buyers on its own. The review rates Rambler higher, calling it a surprisingly practical tool.
Google said in May that current Chromebooks will keep getting support and that many will become eligible to move to Googlebook's software. TechCrunch suspects the migration offer is part of a longer plan to bring schools onto Gemini; Google counted 50 million students and educators on Chromebooks in 2024.