Gemini · Cursor · Google · Android · Circle · TechCrunch AI
Google’s $899 Googlebook is a bet that you’ll buy a new laptop for Gemini
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After first unveiling its new AI-powered laptop, dubbed Googlebook, in May, Google on Monday said the new device is now available for preorder for $899.
Key facts
- The $899 device will include 12 months of Google AI Pro, which gives you 5TB of cloud storage, Gemini Advanced tools, and 3 months of YouTube Premium, Adobe Photoshop, and more
- They feature up to 2.8K OLED displays, haptic glass trackpads, and backlit keyboards
- Googlebook preorders are open now on the Google Store and at Best Buy and other retailers
- What’s more interesting about the Googlebook is how it’s seemingly part of Google’s longer-term plan to capture a large part of the K-12 market that currently relies on Chromebooks and push them
Summary
Meant to offer a step up from traditional Chromebooks, Googlebooks run on Android OS with a desktop version of the Chrome browser and other familiar ChromeOS elements. Google is trying to offer a laptop with unique features like an AI-powered cursor, vibe-coded widgets, and support for AI-enhanced dictation. The move is a bet that AI, specifically Google’s Gemini, could be enough of a draw to get people to buy a new laptop that bakes in AI instead of running them via desktop apps you install or access through the browser. On the Googlebook, Google is trying to reinvent the “point-and-click” experience of desktop computing to now include an AI element: The cursor serves as a conduit to Gemini. In practice, this feature isn’t different from Android’s “Circle to Search,” which allows smartphone owners to use gestures like circling, highlighting, or tapping to connect with Google Search, which of course, also includes AI.