TechGadgetsGoogleGooglebooks just aren’t readyOur collective reviews of every Googlebook at launch: very good laptops hobbled by beta-level software.If you buy something from a link, The Verge may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.by Antonio G. Di Benedetto, David Pierce, Dominic Preston, and Stevie BonifieldOct 22, 2026, 1:00 PM UTCShareGiftIf you buy something from a link, The Verge may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.The Acer Googlebook 14 (left), Lenovo Googlebook 15 (center), and HP Googlebook 14 (right). | Photo: Antonio G.
Di Benedetto / The VergeEEvery Googlebook laptop we’ve tested so far has great hardware. The problem is the software. While Googlebook OS has exciting ideas for how a laptop and phone can work together, right now it’s mostly a frustrating experience filled with annoying bugs and lackluster app support. It often feels like using an Android tablet with a keyboard and trackpad grafted on, rather than a cohesive laptop OS.
It’s too bad, because those keyboards and trackpads — and pretty much all the laptops’ hardware components — are great.Frankly, they should be. The cheapest is $900, a price where you start to expect quality processors, metal builds, higher-quality displays, good speakers, and great keyboards and trackpads (even haptic ones in some cases). The Googlebooks have those covered, and they also have very good battery life and at least 16GB of RAM.Google wanted Googlebooks to feel premium, and HP, Acer, Lenovo, Dell, and Asus all delivered. It’s Google’s software that needs to catch up.
In their current state, we don’t recommend you buy any of them. But it’s worth reviewing the hardware to determine which shows the most promise if the software one day improves — or if crafty modders manage to install other operating systems. Since the software is the same on all Googlebooks (save for some preinstalled manufacturer apps), and we’ve already covered that software at length, we’re strictly talking about Googlebook hardware here. The scores, however, cover hardware and software as they stand today.
Brace yourself — the scores are bad.If you’re a dedicated Google user or Pixel fan and you really want to be an early adopter / paying beta tester — or if you’re just here for some schadenfreude — here are our collective thoughts on each and every Googlebook.4Verge ScoreAcer Googlebook 14$899$899The GoodThe most affordable of the Googlebooks (for now)Nice screen and buildThe BadGooglebook OS feels like a betaNo portrait orientation in tablet mode$899 at Google$899 at Best Buy$900 at AcerHow we rate and review productsThe Acer Googlebook 14 is the only 2-in-1 convertible of the bunch, and it’s one of the nicest-feeling and -looking Acers I’ve ever used at this price. It’s light, with a sturdy metal chassis and a great 2880 x 1800 / 120Hz OLED touchscreen with stylus support. I find 2-in-1s pretty handy, even if they look clunkier than tablets like a Microsoft Surface Pro or an iPad with a keyboard case, but Googlebook OS doesn’t yet support portrait orientation, which limits the Acer’s stylus potential. Like all Googlebooks, the Acer has an Auto-Rotate toggle in settings, but it only flips the orientation 180 degrees — a strange oversight.The speakers don’t have a lot of bass, and they can get muffled in tablet mode depending on how you hold the laptop, but they’re decent and sound balanced overall.
The webcam is a slight weak point, as colors and contrast are a touch drab. But nothing here is bad. This isn’t like some of the Acer Aspires or Swifts I’ve tested in the past where you had to deal with a terrible screen and shoddy build quality for the sake of a good chip. It’s just an all-around nice package.
That extends to the battery life, which lasted me eight to nine hours of light-to-mixed usage.PreviousNext1/7I love a good tent mode. Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The VergeIf this was running Windows or a proper Linux distro with the same hardware and price, it’d be a rare bright spot in our ongoing RAMageddon hellscape. But thanks to Googlebook OS, it’s not.
And an Acer rep told us its $900 launch price is only available for a limited time. That might sound like an incentive to buy one before a price increase, but please allow me to tap the “Don’t buy it now for what it might do later” sign. Actually, picture me tapping it as you read this whole article.— Antonio G. Di Benedetto, Laptop Reviewer5Verge ScoreDell XPS Googlebook$999$999The GoodSmall and lightOn the cheaper side of GooglebooksGreat keyboard and trackpadThe BadGooglebook OS feels like a betaAnti-glare display has some issuesOnly the two USB-C ports$999 at Google$999 at Best Buy$1000 at DellHow we rate and review productsHere’s my theory: If Googlebooks are going to work anytime soon, they’re going to work as secondary computers.
Maybe they don’t need to replace your primary work machine if they can instead be light, fast, simple, and fun to use. (Yes, I agree that $900 or more is a lot to pay for this kind of device, but hey, iPads pull it off!) I already see glimmers of possibility here, even through the bugs of Googlebook OS. “A Chromebook, but also it runs all my apps” is not a bad pitch for an off-day computer.That’s why, of all the available Googlebooks, the Dell XPS Googlebook makes the most sense to me. At 2.2 pounds, with a 13.4-inch screen, and starting at $999, it’s one of the smallest and lightest Googlebooks available. (And unlike the cheaper Acer Googlebook 14, it doesn’t offer a bunch of flippy tablet modes that don’t really work.) Like the other models we’ve tested, it’s a lovely piece of high-end hardware; I love the keyboard and trackpad, I appreciate that I can open the thing with one hand, and the Qualcomm chip inside does its job fine for all my practical purposes. The battery got me through a full day of travel and then some.PreviousNext1/4The XPS has the most unique color of all the Googlebooks. Photo: Antonio G.
Di Benedetto / The VergeMy only real complaint is with the anti-glare coating on the display, which does help tamp down reflections but also creates that slight rainbow-shimmer effect that makes the screen appear a little less sharp and clear. The coating also dims the screen a bit — I’ve used the XPS Googlebook mostly at max brightness, just to get it up to normal. I am generally extremely in favor of these matte displays, but I’d trade the XPS Googlebook’s for a glossy one in a heartbeat.As we keep saying, there’s simply no way around the fact that Googlebook OS isn’t ready. Google is fixing and improving it quickly (adding the ability to run any website as an app was a big win), but I can’t get past the apps that don’t work properly with a keyboard, don’t work on this size screen at all, or simply don’t exist on Googlebook OS (bring back Linux apps, now!).
If you’re in the market for an overpriced second computer and you want easy access to Google Messages and your Drive files, a Googlebook might be exactly what you need. Someday. Maybe by then Dell will have fixed the screen.— David Pierce, Editor at Large4Verge ScoreHP Googlebook 14$1200$1200The GoodSturdy, metal chassisUp to 1TB storageThe BadGooglebook OS feels like a betaOne of the heaviest GooglebooksLimited ports$1200 at HP$1299 at Best BuyHow we rate and review productsHP’s Googlebook 14 is more proof that of all the problems facing these early Googlebook models, the hardware isn’t one of them.Starting from $1,199.99, this Googlebook is about the same size and weight as a MacBook Air 13, despite fitting in a larger 14-inch display. It’s a great panel, too: a 2880 x 1800 resolution, 120Hz, OLED touchscreen with a slim bezel, good viewing angles, and punchy brightness.
The Snapdragon X Elite chip has proved reliable so far (and for what it’s worth, my Asus model with an Intel chip has been solid too, despite early concerns)
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