The first wave of Google’s touted Googlebooks seems ever more impending, with leak after leak telling us these are more than mere next-gen Chromebooks. Yet another deluge of data from a previously exposed “Lenovo Googlebook 15” shows us Google is really trying to make Googlebook an actual MacBook competitor in more ways than one.
This Lenovo Googlebook 15 leak stems from MacObserver, which published full, detailed renders of this upcoming device as well as a full specs sheet. To summarize, it’s a moderately powerful laptop made for daily use thanks to its Intel Core Ultra 5 325 chip and up to 32GB of LPDDR5x. You read that right; this Chromebook sequel can now support twice as much memory than any Chromebook ever could.
The Googlebook would also have options between 256GB and 512GB of SSD storage, which seems to indicate Google still wants you to rely on cloud storage. And if you were wondering if Lenovo and Google wanted this device to seem premium, it’s touting a 2,880 x 1,800 resolution OLED display that maxes out at 120Hz. It even comes with a haptic touchpad. With all that together, we don’t expect this laptop to cost closer to $1,500. This Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 5 has the same kind of screen—though at 16 inches—and the same chip. It costs more than $1,700.
Pricing will naturally be Googlebooks’ Achilles heel. Just knowing how RAM prices are going, more buyers are looking toward cheaper MacBook Neo-level laptops. Lenovo now has its own IdeaPad Vibe models that will likely cost far less and should run all the usual PC software you’re used to. Google has yet to describe how its upcoming operating system will work and whether it can truly make more Android apps work better natively on a larger display.
If that were it, then Googlebooks would just be another run-of-the-mill laptop being slowly squeezed by the RAM shortage. But MacObserver has shared a few more details about “Googlebook OS,” which seems to be the modern name for what was previously codenamed Aluminum OS. If you already guessed it has something to do with AI, congratulations. Documentation suggests you’ll be able to access Gemini for “personal proactive help,” likely in the form of cross-app actions like writing your emails or adding calendar events for you.
Google is certainly going to fill these laptops to the brim with AI. An APK teardown by Android Authority earlier this month suggested that the laptops could use AI to automatically create “Collections” of your loose files sitting in your downloads folder and desktop. It could prove an actually useful feature if you have never learned any skills at file management. Surprisingly, the Lenovo leaks also mention a “Google facial authentication” that could be face unlock functionality, almost like Windows Hello’s facial unlock. There’s also a fingerprint reader for further biometric access.
These Googlebooks also sport a special “G” key in place of the Windows button you find on most PCs’ keyboards. This key is likely how Google expects you to access these AI functions. And if you wanted to know what that “Glowbar” was for on these upcoming laptops, it’s supposed to indicate your laptop’s battery and charging levels.
Most surprising of all, Google and its partner OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) seem like they will launch dedicated accessories for Googlebooks, including a “Lenovo AI Mouse” with an RGB light strip around the back. We expect the mouse may sync with the laptop’s Glowbar, but for how it will actually incorporate AI, we can expect it may interact with Google’s AI-ified mouse cursor.
We’ll have to wait to see how many of these AI features actually run fully on-device and whether any of them prove useful. At the very least, the number of leaks indicates we won’t have to wait long.
