Googlebooks are the Android-based evolution of the Chromebook

Google After multiple years of rumors, Google today confirmed a new laptop-focused initiative called Googlebooks. Chrome OS, which launched more than 15 years ago, was built with the thought that most people do everything online now; Google says this new category of laptops is built for a Gemini-first world. The company only gave us a very brief preview of what makes up a Googlebook, with plans to more formally announce more details including hardware later this year.

Here's what we know so far. The OS running on Googlebooks has its origins in Android, something we've been hearing about for several years now. Of course, Chromebooks have supported app streaming from Android phones since 2023, but Google says that building the OS from the ground up on Android will allow for a lot closer integration between Googlebooks and Android phones. It'll also enable the company to develop and implement Android features on laptops much easier than it can currently do with ChromeOS. Since ChromeOS was basically just a browser to start with, Google has had to graft a lot of features like Quick Share and Phone Hub to make the system work better with Android — that won't be the case with Googlebooks.

As such, Google is pushing more robust Android integration with Googlebooks. There's a new Quick Access feature that'll show your compatible Android phone in the sidebar of the file browser, giving you immediate access to everything stored on it that you might want to share on your laptop. The new "Create Your Widget" feature coming to Android 17 is present here, as well. This lets you build a dashboard of related files and information from Gmail, Calendar and other Google apps to keep a project or event all in one easily accessible place.