Googlebooks Launch at $900 With Android Apps That Don't Work

The cheapest Googlebook costs $900, and after a month on Acer's Googlebook 14, one verdict stands out: right now, Googlebooks make more sense for Google than they do for users. Google spent years bolting Android features onto Chromebooks, then started over with Android itself as the foundation for a laptop OS. The first wave ships as high-end hardware pitched at Android enthusiasts — and as a disjointed software mess underneath.

What breaks on a $900 Googlebook?

The hardware mostly escapes blame. Acer's Googlebook 14 weighs 2.51 pounds, carries a 120 Hz 3K OLED touchscreen, and is the only Googlebook whose display flips into tablet mode. The trackpad is smooth, though its "diving board" click mechanism stiffens at the top edge. No major hardware complaints.

The software is another story. Google pushes developers to optimize Android apps for large screens, keyboards and trackpads — but Google itself hasn't bothered. The preloaded Gmail app isn't an optimized Android app at all. It's a web-based desktop app running in Chrome, and tapping the menu button reveals a "Running in Chrome" disclaimer. Same for Google Docs, Drive, Meet and YouTube.

Even the web apps misbehave. In Gmail, cursor hover controls don't work, so you can't trash or archive messages line by line in the inbox. In Drive, documents open in a Chrome tab; via Docs or Sheets, the same documents open in their own windows. Try selecting text in Google Docs on the touchscreen, and the comment button pops up directly over the right text selector, making it unreachable.

Third-party apps fare no better. Signing into Slack bounces you out to a Chrome tab that fails to authenticate back into the Android app, forcing manual URL and password entry for each workplace. Even then, Slack's Android app lacks the desktop version's persistent sidebar.

Video apps remain unfinished. Apps Google labels "optimized for desktop," like Netflix and Disney+, auto-open in full screen — jarring, but functional. Others, like Fox One and NFL, open in a floating window whose full screen icon does nothing. The actual workaround: ignore that button, highlight the maximize control, then click a separate "Full Screen" icon. None of these apps support always-visible picture-in-picture like their mobile counterparts.

One more niche gap: bookmarklets don't work at all. If you keep a dozen site-specific search and page-cleanup bookmarklets in your address bar, the Googlebook reminds you that you're not getting a full Chrome desktop experience.

Does the Play Store tell you what to expect?

Partly. The Play Store now runs a tiered labeling system — "Optimized for Desktop," "Compatible with Desktop," "Better on the Website" — so buyers know what they're installing. And the situation is improving. Bluesky was install-blocked at first, directing users to the web version; now the app is available. Google Docs has gained per-document offline marking. The ecosystem remains a work in progress.

The Android synergies show the same split. The best feature: browsing your phone's files directly through the laptop's Files app. "Cross-device continuity" lets you resume a Gmail draft or Docs file opened on your phone, though it doesn't work with many apps. App casting — viewing phone apps on a Googlebook without installing them, on Android 17 phones — delivers jerky scrolling and formatting glitches. Tap a forwarded phone notification and you land in the janky cast version instead of the installed app.

Structural limits persist. ChatGPT and Claude lack the device control and folder-based file permissions their desktop apps offer. There are no command bar apps akin to Raycast for Windows and macOS.

Why are there four ways to open Gemini?

Google pitches Googlebooks as a premier surface for Gemini, and provides four entry points: wiggling the mouse cursor, saying "Hey Google," clicking the Gemini dock icon, or clicking the Gemini icon in the Chrome taskbar. The execution is disjointed. Open the full Gemini app while a pop-up chat is active, and the pop-up closes while the full app cuts off your conversation and starts a new one. The Chrome sidebar and pop-up window hold separate conversations that don't carry over. You end up tracking which chat lives where based on how you invoked it.

Gemini also can't act as an agent. Desktop AI apps on other platforms work directly with files and folders; Gemini on Googlebooks cannot.

What happens when Chrome OS dies?

Google has said it will phase out Chrome OS by 2034, with vague plans to convert existing Chromebooks into Googlebooks — presumably moving the line down-market over time. The open question is whether Google invests enough to fix the weaknesses or lets the project languish, as it did with Stadia, Reader and its many social networking attempts. One reason the software feels unpolished is Google's hot-and-cold history with Android tablets, which scared off large-screen app developers. The eventual promise — desktop-class Chrome plus true Android apps plus accessible AI — is visible. But Google needs to get more of the basics right before the 2034 deadline does the persuading for it.

By Priya Raman