Googlebook Pre-Orders Are Live: Google's Android Laptop Era Begins

The laptop Google has been teasing since May is finally something you can buy. This morning at 9AM Eastern, the Googlebook pre-order window opened for a new category of laptops that runs Android instead of Windows or macOS. Five of the biggest PC makers are in on day one: Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

Google first talked about Googlebook at The Android Show in May, then went quiet. For months the only official timing was "later this year," later narrowed to "this fall." That ended when Google emailed everyone on its Googlebook notify list and posted the September 21 date on the official Googlebook site. Anyone weighing a Googlebook pre-order is buying into a platform that is only weeks old, as Engadget reported. Pre-orders are now live at the Google Store and at retailers including Best Buy.

The name sounds like a Chromebook sequel, but the operating system is different. Googlebook runs a desktop version of Android, developed under the codename Aluminium OS, with a Linux environment running alongside it and ChromeOS security architecture underneath. As The Tech Portal reports, that means the machine runs native Android apps, gives full Linux terminal access out of the box, and has Gemini built into the OS level instead of running as an app you open and close.

A new laptop category, not a renamed Chromebook

The hardware lineup is deliberately broad. Every initial Googlebook ships with at least 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Chips come from Intel's Panther Lake lineup or Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite. All models get backlit keyboards and haptic glass trackpads. Prices start at $899 and go up to $1299 depending on the configuration, which puts Googlebooks against the MacBook Air and Windows Copilot+ PCs.

There is one hardware detail you can't miss: the Glowbar. Every Googlebook has an LED light strip along the lid that lights up in Google's colors when you open or close it, shows the battery level, and pulses during Gemini responses. It's the same idea Apple used with its old glowing MacBook logos, except this one reacts to what the computer is doing.

Gemini is the reason the machine exists. One flagship feature is called the Magic Pointer: wiggle the cursor and it becomes a tool that reads what's on your screen and suggests actions you can take. You can also generate custom widgets from plain-language prompts. Googlebooks tie into Android phones closely, including streaming phone apps onto the laptop screen and working with phone files more directly.

The ASUS Googlebook 14 goes first

ASUS was first to announce a specific machine. Its ASUS Googlebook 14 (model CX9406CAA) is the first ASUS laptop designed for Gemini Intelligence, in the company's own words. The company's announcement puts it at 0.99kg and 10.9mm thin, with a CNC-machined magnesium-aluminum chassis in a color called Dusk Ash. ASUS says it's tested to the US military-grade MIL-STD 810H standard, which matters for a laptop that will live in a backpack.

The bundle is worth noting. Every ASUS Googlebook 14 includes 12 months of Google AI Pro, with expanded access to Gemini features across Google's apps, plus 5 TB of cloud storage. In Canada, pre-orders are open across the ASUS Store, Amazon, Best Buy, Canada Computers, Costco, and Staples, with in-store availability from October 4. The wider rollout covering the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Australia follows on October 5, according to The Tech Portal.

Should you buy one on day one

Pre-ordering a new laptop category is a bet, and Google has made the call awkward. The October 5 "Opening Night" event in New York City is where Google promises interactive showcases and the full debut of the first Gemini Intelligence laptop, which means today's pre-orders open two full weeks before the hands-on event. As Android Authority notes, you'd expect the reveal to come before the pre-orders, not after.

Chromebooks aren't going away either. Google says existing devices keep their update commitments and keep running ChromeOS. Googlebook just sits above them as the flagship tier: better materials, faster chips, Gemini at the core. The ChromeOS and Android merger Google confirmed in July 2025 finally has a shipping product.

The pitch is simple enough. If you want a laptop that treats your Android phone as a partner instead of a stranger, and an assistant built into the OS instead of bolted on top, today is the first day you can put money down on a Googlebook pre-order. The reviews will tell us whether the hardware matches the ambition. For now, Googlebook is real, it has a price, and it has a date. Apple's foldable iPhone lands this October too, so it's shaping up to be an expensive fall for gadget fans. And if AI hardware is your thing, Meta's camera-free Luna glasses are worth a look as well.