Why does Googlebook exist?

Google announced its new Googlebook laptop platform yesterday, and to this day I am left asking, “Why?” Why Google is killing its Chromebook platform with ChromeOS this?

I did to be happy and the hope of Android and ChromeOS merging under long-term rumors Aluminum OS. The idea was that Aluminum could integrate Android and ChromeOS under one roof, turning on at the same time Android phones become Chromebook desktopsfixing the mess that is Android tablets, and expanding the number of real Chromebook laptops.

Instead, we have Googlebook; a popular line of laptops without much hardware (except for the light bar and separate approval from Intel) to run an OS that looks different from ChromeOS. Google didn’t waste time telling us what Googlebooks is for. It just gave us a small preview and confirmation that Gemini will be in front of you – even on your cursor.

It looks like a desktop app with Android apps, but mainstream desktop functionality isn’t a unique offering – not even from Google. ChromeOS is possible, and has been in the past Android app compatibility for a decade. These apps will run well on Android-based OS, but Googlebooks is still upgrading the desktop environment. That’s a hurdle that competitors running Windows and macOS don’t have to face.

What computing problem is Google solving with its new operating system and tools? Nothing here seems particularly impressive, and Google hasn’t shown enough of its humor to surprise us. It was just a bit of integration between Android phones and laptops, with some of Gemini’s smarts looking like an evolution of things already offered in ChromeOS. Chromebooks already replace the Caps Lock key with the Quick Insert key Gemini again in 2024.

I don’t want to write a new operating system like “you should just make an app,” but, Google, maybe you should just make an app? Like the app you It has already been developed for other platforms? Googlebook’s AI-generated widgets, dropping apps and pulling files from your connected Android phone, and having Gemini create photos based on other photos all seem like things that could be done on a Chromebook. If there is a change in mindset from blowing everything up and starting over with new laptops and a new OS built on top of the Android stack, I don’t see it yet.

When Chromebooks first started about 15 years ago, they were trying to solve a specific need. They offered a lightweight operating system that could run on cheap hardware, with little fear from the threat of viruses and malware, and was built around using Chrome. There’s a lot you can do with just a browser, and for most people it can meet most of their laptop needs. Chromebooks have taken over classrooms and made it unusual in some schools to have students provide their own computers.

Outside of class, ChromeOS is a bit of a sleeper, even for some very good Chromebook starts last year. And while Google is working on any Googlebooks, the entire laptop world is cooking. MacBooks had their own M-series chip change, and now MacBook Neo Where is he? destroy other computers hovering around its $600 price tag (including the best Chromebooks). Windows on Arm it’s a mature platform and provides more faster processors with longer battery life. Even x86 Windows now has the best Intel and AMD offerings to offer good job and solid to impressive battery life. Basically, if you spend $600 on a MacBook Neo or over $1,000 on a MacBook Air or various Windows laptops, you’re getting a decent computer.

It’s not like these platforms don’t have their problems. Although the chips in Macs and Windows laptops have been impressive, their operating systems have had flaws. Mac has entered theirs the disruptive moment of Liquid Glassand Microsoft dropped Windows 11 in addition unemployed Copilot plus almost anywhere force the AI ​​down your throat. Apple is processing Liquid Glassand Microsoft is trying to solve the problem of Windows users and little correction on Copilot and to download its OS. But Google isn’t avoiding controversy either, either. It appeared with Googlebooks flying the big Gemini flag. No wonder some reviewers call Google the Slopbook.

So I’m left wondering what you get when you get Googlebook, other than “Gemini Intelligence?” What do Googlebooks have to offer that makes them worth switching to Google from a Chromebook? I know that when I use a Mac I am more productive with heavy productivity software. I know when I use Windows for flexibility and compatibility that includes all the games I want to play. What will Googlebooks offer?

Google should show us, for real this time.