I should have expected this, but for some reason I did not. When Googlebook was pitched with a selling point it connects better with your phone, I was really excited about the idea of having a laptop (or an OS in general) sync my messages as well as a Macbook does with an iPhone through iMessage.

Looking back, I know it doesn't make sense. Even at the time I kind of knew it anyway. I was really hopeful I would be wrong though.

Sadly, Google Messages implementation on the Googlebook is the same as any other laptop or desktop. It's just Messages.Google.com as a PWA. It come with the same benefits and many downfalls of the site anywhere else.

The pros: you can answer messages from you Android phone on the laptop. This is great!

The cons: Your phone has to have a constant connection to the laptop to make that happen. It uses the same QR system and connectivity it does everywhere else. That comes with times where it just...works. Along with the many times it just...does not work.

It brings me to a bigger disappointment about where we are at with messaging, connectivity, and a seemingly archaic cell phone service system in the United States as a whole in 2026.

I remember signing up for Project Fi 10 years ago when I bought the very first Pixel phone. I was really excited and honestly, did not even know about the "Sync with Fi" feature that came with the service.

For those who don't know (although I'm sure just about everyone in this subreddit does know): You could answer texts and calls from ANY device connected to the internet, regardless of whether your phone was on or off.

I remember my early days in journalism, on the road typing out stories from football and basketball games out in the middle of nowhere on my low budget Chromebook. In the middle of typing, while I had headphones in, my boss could call me. Instead of pulling out my phone to answer the call, I would get the notification right there on my Chromebook and answer the call there and then. I could talk out my progress with my boss without missing a beat. I didn't even need to have my phone on me unless I knew I'd need the hotspot. I could answer calls and texts and the only connection I'd have to worry about is the internet, not whether or not my phone was connected.

Of course, Fi still has the phone call service, but they've taken away the messaging aspect (seemingly at least for now). I also must ask ishis not more popular among other carriers? Why is it we have an internet based messaging system in RCS, but we can only utilize it with our phone on and near a device? I struggle to see the point of RCS when that's the case.

I know it's not just Google's fault and there is more at play with carriers in that sense, but I can't help but feel consistently let down by the state of messaging outside the Apple ecosystem. I get we can choose another service like WhatsApp or Signal, but not everyone uses these and it's too time consuming/not feasible to ask everyone in your life to make the switch just for the times they're talking to you.

I know I got a little off topic with Googlebooks, so coming back to it, I simply wish Googlebooks had the functionality to answer texts without needing my phone to be on and around. I also wish it could do more with calls than strictly answering or making video calls, rather than connecting with my phone to answer regular phone calls as well. I feel these are two key missing aspects which have disappointed me and, in the end if they are not rectified, will never allow Googlebook OS to truly compete with a Mac/Apple ecosystem.

Kind of... you can find the recovery to generic image conversion project at https://github.com/alesimula/project-churro/

Still very WIP

Pixel User, MacBook Pro user.

I waited a long time to see a proper alternative to the MacBook that works with the Android ecosystem and can deliver the processing power and the convenience of the MacBook in terms of stability, processing, and battery life.

I bought the Asus model, which has the Intel processor. My first impression of the hardware and build quality was WOW! It was so lightweight, had a very premium feel, and the keyboard was awesome.

However, if I want to summarize my experience with the software, I would say it was an immature product that has taken minimal steps to differentiate itself from an Android mobile device. I connect my Pixel 9 Pro XL to monitors and use its desktop view, and the Googlebook is not that different.

Apps crash or lose progress casually, and multitasking is a joke!

I managed to bring Claude Code via Terminal, but a very limited amount of RAM and processing power was given to the VM where the terminal was running. That being said, I ran a containerized heavy processing task that had different types of processing, including local AI workloads, and played a game while that was running, and it handled the pressure very well!

THE WORST PART: SETUP and INTEGRATION!!!

This is the whole point of this laptop's existence, and I was soooo bothered during the setup, and my phone and the laptop NEVER integrated, and none of the continue-on-type features ran. The only integration that worked properly was my Pixel Buds Pro 2 and its device switch.

There is a lot of potential here to make a proper MACBOOK Alternative, but Google has a lot of work to do to mature the platform.

​

My local Best Buy has had marketing banners, endcaps, and promotional signage up for the Google Book for about three weeks now, but the demo tables are completely empty. No physical units to touch, no test devices tethered down—just empty promotional space.

Whenever I ask floor associates, nobody seems to have a clear answer.

For anyone who works at Best Buy, does third-party merchandising, or knows how these rollouts work:

Is this a firmware/demo-mode software delay on Google's end?

Are stores waiting on third-party vendor reps to physically set the security mounts and flash the devices?

Or are hardware allocations so tight that they can't even spare units for floor demos?

Has anyone seen actual live demo units on display at their local store yet, or is this happening everywhere?

Begin rant

Let's have a look at the issues of the current Googlebooks:

- Color reproduction is bad.

- HDR support bad or non existent (depending on Modell)

- Audio via headphones is laggy and bad (Snapdragon models)

- Chrome is somewhere between the desktop and the Android version

- Multi desktop support is bad

This product should have never been released in this state. It hurts me to see how Google is destroying the product from the beginning. All of the above problems must be fixed asap. No excuses!

Google cannot ask for 1000$ or more and then expect that nobody will compare the product to others, which offer a much much better experience for similar money.

Google, wake up! Googlebook OS is in an embarrassing state. Fix it ASAP

The only reason I am keeping mine is that I still believe Google will provide fast updates. If not, then I am out.

End of rant

Today I picked up an open box HP Googlebook for $1038! As a heads up the price in store for the open box was higher than what was shown online. I saw the deal for the open box online and headed over to the store. When I got there they told me the price for it was $1177 but they matched the price down to what was shown on the website. I'm happy I got an open box because now I won't feel bad if I don't like it and return it.

On a side note, did anyone else's HP come pre installed with Dropbox? The unit I got was factory reset and I did not install any apps from my phone during setup but Dropbox was installed after setup and pinned to the taskbar

I want to buy a Googlebook and am considering using the Switch emulator (to run Switch games) and/or Windows apps through Wine. However, because the architectures/performance differ, I'm unsure if this is possible or what's the better option.

I’d like to protect it with a skin; does anyone know where to buy one for a Dell? I can only seem to find them for Chromebooks.

thank you

The calendar widget does not allow for selecting calendars to be displayed. This is something that needs to change..

On my Pixel phone this is not a problem. The widget does allow selecting calendars. I don't understand why it was not implemented in the Googlebook..

I use them (mostly TextMaker) on Android tablet and on Windows and wondered if anyone else has tried them on Googlebook.

Went from the Acer Googlebook to the HP and honestly I’m really happy with it.

The Acer was ok for the money but it always felt kind of cheap, and booting up took forever. The HP feels way more solid. No bending when you pick it up, and the hinge doesn’t wobble.

The big thing for me is speed. I usually have a bunch of tabs and apps open for school and work, and the HP doesn’t care. On the Acer I’d get lag all the time.

Battery is great too. I go through a whole day of classes and studying and still have battery left when I get home. With the Acer I was plugging in by the afternoon.

The speakers are also a lot better. Louder and fuller, so videos and lectures actually sound good. The Acer’s were pretty tinny.

Casting apps from my phone works way better too. On the Acer it was laggy and kept dropping. On the HP it’s smooth.

Only hardware downside is it doesn’t fold into a tablet like the Acer. I never really used that, so it’s not a big deal for me.

My real complaint is the OS, not the laptop. A lot of the big names still don’t have full desktop versions, so you’re stuck with the phone/tablet versions or the web. Some stuff is just buggy too. The ChatGPT extension keeps crashing on me, and Claude sometimes won’t load at all. That’s the part Google really needs to fix. The hardware is ready for it.

If you just browse and watch stuff, the Acer is still fine. If you’re on it all day, I think the HP is worth paying more.

Anyone else switch? And what apps are you still having problems with?

While I think he is exaggerating, I understand and agree with most things.