Did anyone during the first boot not get to the welcome page? Instead, it went into repair mode.

Here's the picture.

It feels kind of weird. Maybe during manufacturing, some dude forgot to exit it?

It is brand new and sealed.

It drives me nuts that i have to navigate nine levels deep to reach a shared drive folder which I normally could just drag and bookmark or favorite in the files app. I can't believe this functionality doesn't exist. Please add it.

Today I received my Googlebook, but I spotted a small issue. The screen sometimes flickers at the bottom when it's idle, but when I move the cursor or do some tasks, it doesn't actually flicker. So I guess it is about power management stuff. Has anybody who received a Dell Googlebook had similar issues?

I also think my eyes may also somehow be sensitive and can spot those flickering things.

Thank you so much.

From the outside, the screen actually didn't show any damages. When I plugged in the power cord, I actually didn't see those issues. It's only when you're using the battery and the laptop is idle.

Hopefully, it is software-related issues.

Go around minute 33 and listen to what they say about the Chrome browser in Googlebook OS. I couldn't agree more.

In ChromeOS you could setup sync between your Google Drive and the local file system. I miss this option in Googlebook OS. Please add it.

Is the Acer the only Googlebook that is missing the LDAC Bluetooth codec? Does anyone else have the issues I've had with USB audio being subpar? Or is it just me; is my device defective somehow?

I really like my Googlebook and I think this platform (almost) eliminates the need for a big tablet like my Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, but the audio situation is a major issue for me.

https://youtu.be/SZ77uA-VLQk?si=ffLHoKTr-zal1zsv

I've been playing a few games on my Googlebook, but I'm curious what's stood out to others.

What games from the Play Store have you tried which work well for the Googlebook? I'm looking for some recommendations.

Just thought it was interesting its the only one to not have it labeled as GooglebookOS, as all the other ones do.

Am I encountering a bug or am I missing something on an Acer Googlebook 14 when I flip over the keyboard in order to read PDFs in portrait mode?

I turn on auto rotate, open a PDF file in a browser or an app like ReadEra, turn the device and...nothing happens in portrait mode. I can only seem to switch between two landscape modes but nothing happens in portrait mode.

Has anyone figured out how to run ADB commands on a Googlebook? I've installed ADB in the Linux terminal, but "adb devices" doesn't find my phone when it's connected. This page says it should be possible: https://developer.android.com/develop/adaptive-apps/guides/googlebook/adb-debugging. On the HP.

Googlebook OS booted on my Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (photo in the comments). Google doesn't support this machine, so I wrote scripts that build a bootable image for it, with Claude Code doing most of the porting work.

How it works: you run the scripts on your own computer. They download Google's official recovery image, check its SHA-256, rebuild it and re-sign it with a key generated on your machine. The repo has no Google files, so you build your own image (7.7 GB download, around 80 GB free disk, 10 to 30 minutes).

What I tested: one KANO unit (an Alder Lake-P engineering sample). Desktop, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, touchpad, keyboard, speakers, mic, lid sleep and wake, battery and charging indicator work there. That was measured on earlier builds, so the v0.2.1 changes haven't been run on hardware. Auto-rotate, light sensor and keyboard backlight don't work, touchscreen and stylus are detected but not tap-tested.

Not tested: other Spin 714 models, installing to the internal disk (QEMU only), other x86 PCs (experimental profiles, QEMU only, the generic one has no GPU acceleration, expects Intel 12th gen or AMD Zen 5 or newer).

Heads up: the KANO needs a UEFI firmware swap first (MrChromebox, SuzyQ cable) and that step can brick it. My scripts don't do it. Installing to the internal disk wipes it. /data is not encrypted. Independent project, not from Google.

https://gitlab.com/aa22396584/googlebook-anywhere

If you try it on another machine, tell me what happens, good or bad.

Hey Google on your next update please add themes to chrome browser. I don't like looking at a plain homepage.

I know this might be a bit off-topic, but I know many people likes GOS UI, but can't get Googlebook, so here's Linux customization I'm working on.

All widgets are functional. Color themes works great

I'm also planning to make custom apps/overlays for settings and system apps, to resemble GOS more.

Let me know what you think!

It seems the Acer Googlebook only half supports external keyboards. I dock my laptop at home and the top-row keys of a Chrome OS-style keyboard are either entirely mismatched (back/forward, refresh, full screen, and overview buttons) or nonfunctional (brightness, mute, volume, lock buttons). On top of that, the right-side numpad is not recognized at all.

This is all with a physical Chrome OS keyboard connected via USB. I didn't even bother with a newer bluetooth one from CTL, as it couldn't even wake the machine without opening the Googlebook itself while connected to the dock.

Do you think these things will be "fixed," or should I just give up hope that function keys of this type—which are very similar to the ones on the Googlebook keyboard—will ever map to an external device?

I've picked up the ASUS Googlebook last week and has been overall a positive experience so far. I mainly picked it up due to interest in software development, the linux terminal on Android OS intrigued me and I think one of the best use cases of Googlebook is to develop apps for Android phone through Antigravity and being able to drag and drop the .apk straight on to the phone. That along with the overall software experience of the OS has been great.

That said, one of the things that tipped the Googlebook over the edge for me was the fact that it came bundled with a Gemini Pro subscription for a year. I was already paying $27 CAD/month for the subscription so it would mean a decent amount of savings. I did not pick up on the fact that it was an actual downgrade from paying for the subscription. First day I picked up the Googlebook, I activated the trial and noticed I lost Youtube Premium Lite on my account. After some digging I found out about the distinction, and decided to continue the subscription on the basis $27/month to $7/month (for Premium Lite directly) was still saving me some money.

But then Gemini 4 started getting rolled out. It was available to Pro users on the Gemini app/web but it was only available to Ultra subscribers for Antigravity. That was until enough people complained about it that they eventually rolled out to Pro users, but only *Paid* Pro users. So the subscription I was paying for before Googlebook would've had it but because I bought a Googlebook and activated the Pro subscription it was advertised to come with, I don't have access. Feels like a rug pull with this bundled-in subscription and arbitrary distinction between trial use and paid use.

On a side note, Gemini 4 has had mixed reception at best, so maybe I'm not missing out on much. I did try one task with Gemini 4 to organize a gallery in Google Photos for a screensaver gallery for my TV and burned through 35% daily usage off one prompt but still annoying I can't form my own conclusions on it on coding related tasks.

Hi everyone, I'm the developer of gbOS86, an independent project that runs Google's Googlebook OS on ordinary Intel laptops instead of Google's own hardware.

What it is

Googlebook OS is built for Google's own machines: their CPU, a security chip, a protected VM, and their kernel. gbOS86 keeps Google's userspace as shipped and replaces what's underneath:

• A different kernel (Android common kernel 6.18) with a CPU-instruction emulator. Google's binaries use instructions like SHA-NI, AVX-VNNI, GFNI and VAES that most laptops lack, so the kernel emulates them.
• Patched libraries for the hottest code (zlib checksums and SHA-256 in libcrypto), so boot and Play Store installs aren't crawling.
• Software stand-ins for the Google-only security hardware, so setup and the lock screen work.
• Boot-time hardware detection that loads the right Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio, touchpad and platform drivers on each machine and writes a report (hwdetect.txt).
• A boot menu on the USB stick: run live, install to the internal NVMe, or update an existing install without touching your data. The installer erases the drive only after you type its serial number.

What works today

On my Dell Latitude 5300 (i5-8365U): boots to the desktop, setup and Google sign-in, Play Store installs, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound, touchpad with gestures, battery, and a persistent install on the NVMe drive.

What I need to be upfront about

• Only that one laptop is tested. Support for other Intel 6th-gen and newer laptops (Intel, Realtek, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Broadcom Wi-Fi, HDA and SOF audio, I2C/PS2 touchpads, laptop hotkeys) is built in but untested on real hardware.
• It's slower than on Google's hardware, because many instructions are emulated. Newer CPUs that have them natively will do better.
• It is not a secure device. SELinux is permissive, Secure Boot has to be off, and the security services are software stand-ins.
• Suspend/resume, fingerprint readers, IPU6 cameras and discrete GPUs don't work. Installing needs an NVMe drive; live USB works without.
• No image download. The image contains Google's OS, so you build it yourself from Google's public recovery image. The repo has the tools and kernel patches, plus a few patched Google libraries the build needs.

How you can help

If you have an Intel laptop, try the live USB and send me your hwdetect.txt (it's in gbos/logs/boot-N/ on the stick after a boot). It lists your devices, which ones got a driver and which firmware is missing, and that's what lets me add support.

• Source: https://github.com/linuxkid473/gbos-x86
• Site, install guide and docs: https://gbos86.com
• Discord: https://discord.gg/h9AD9fSnDT

Independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Google. Questions and criticism welcome.

First, I'm really enjoying Googlebook OS so far! I'm excited about the direction Google is taking with this platform.

One thing I'm curious about is the long-term role of App Casting. While it's a really cool feature, there seems to be some work to do if it's intended to be the primary desktop experience for Android apps. For example, typing feels slow, which is particularly noticeable in a messaging app.

Should we expect native desktop experiences for Google's own apps as well, particularly Google Messages? I'd love to see a version that takes full advantage of a physical keyboard, notifications, multitasking, and window management.

Is App Casting intended to complement native desktop apps, or is Google envisioning it as the primary way Android apps will run on Googlebook?

I think the combination of Android apps and purpose-built desktop experiences could make Googlebook OS really compelling!