Google’s promising up to 10 years of updates for the new Googlebooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.
Google’s promising up to 10 years of updates for the new Googlebooks from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.
Google and partners are finally announcing the first laptops under the new Googlebook banner. There are five models from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to kick things off. They’re available for preorder starting today and arrive in stores on October 4th.
Starting prices range from $899 to $1,299, putting the Googlebooks in the same territory as the MacBook Air and a plethora of Windows laptops. Each Googlebook also comes with 12 months of Google AI Pro with 5TB of cloud storage, along with three-month trials of YouTube Premium, Adobe Photoshop, and CapCut. Google’s also promising up to 10 years of updates.
Here’s a look at the hardware each Googlebook has to offer for those prices, and how they compare to each other.
The Acer Googlebook 14 is the only convertible 2-in-1 in the first round of Googlebooks, featuring a design a bit like Acer’s Chromebook Plus Spin 714. Acer says it offers up to 16 hours of battery life. It also currently has the lowest starting price at $899, although that might not last — Acer’s Kelly Odle said in a comment to The Verge that $899 is the laptop’s “initial launch price available for a limited time,” adding that Acer plans to “reevaluate pricing over time based on component supplies and other market pressures.”
Ongoing shortages of RAM and other components have been driving up prices on other laptops, like Apple’s MacBook Neo, and unfortunately it sounds like a price hike isn’t out of the question for the Acer Googlebook 14, either.
Asus’ Googlebook 14 takes after its ExpertBook Ultra with its design, featuring a metallic gray-blue chassis and more ports than most of the other Googlebooks. It’s the lightest of the first five models at 2. 2 pounds, although it isn’t the thinnest (that title goes to Dell). The Asus Googlebook 14 is one of only two that come with an HDMI port as well. It’s one of the pricier Googlebooks, starting at $1,299, but it features spec options similar to the others.
Dell’s first Googlebook, starting at $1,199, closely resembles the XPS 13 but with a light gold “shimmer” colorway, the Googlebook glowbar, and Google’s software. Unlike the Windows XPS 13, the XPS Googlebook also has a fingerprint reader. Unfortunately it’s just as sparse on ports as the original, with only two USB-C ports.
The HP Googlebook 14 starts at $1,299 and notably includes both facial recognition and a fingerprint reader. It also currently has the highest storage capacity on a Googlebook, maxing out at 1TB. It sports a dark blue chassis similar to the HP Spectre, but it’s light on ports with just two USB-C ports and a headphone jack.
Lenovo’s Googlebook starts at the higher end at $1,299, but its 15. 3-inch display is the largest display out of the first five models. It’s one of the only ones with an HDMI port, and it’s also the only one with a white chassis, which has a satin-like finish to it, rather than metallic blue or gold. Lenovo’s also launching an AI mouse alongside the Googlebook 15 with a matching glowbar.
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