Google I/O 2026 has come and gone, and an enormous focus was on AI this yr. A part of that included a revision of the common-or-garden Chromebook, which is being succeeded by the newer and shinier Googlebook. The Googlebook earns its new title because of some key adjustments to Chromebook’s DNA, a very powerful of which is an NPU that may hit a powerful 40 TOPS for a low-end gadget.
However as I used to be wanting on the Googlebook, I had a nasty sense of deja vu. We have undoubtedly seen an organization axe its earlier line of laptops to deal with an AI-centric mannequin earlier than, and it wasn’t fairly. So, here is why I feel the Googlebook is probably sleepwalking into one other Home windows 11 Copilot+ drawback.
The principle draw for the Googlebook is the AI
There’s not a lot else to have fun with the improve
The principle draw of the Googlebook is that it is form of like a Chromebook, besides it has mightier {hardware} underneath the hood. That features a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that is devoted to operating AI fashions regionally. The thought is that you should use AI instruments like Gemini with out the necessity for the laptop computer to ‘telephone house’ with Google’s servers; it could actually do every thing on the {hardware} itself.
This goes hand in hand with what we noticed with Google I/O 2026. The corporate spent a lot of the keynote discussing AI. We noticed it on Search, we noticed it on Android, we noticed its new Gemini agentic system; it was in all places. And plainly the Chromebook was not spared when it got here to “Ai-ifying” Google’s portfolio. The search large appears very excited and very assured that we’ll fall in love with AI quickly.
Google says it is “rethinking laptops once more” with its new Android-powered Googlebook
The successor to the Chromebook and Chrome OS has lastly been formally revealed
The principle downside for the buyer is the AI
Google might prefer it, however we’d not
The issue is, we have not fallen in love with AI. Certain, AI is there, in our day by day lives; we use it to speak issues via, carry out analysis, and do menial duties at our jobs. However I actually have not seen many individuals begging for a laptop computer that permits them to, say, run Gemini-powered translation regionally. Or maybe churn over some knowledge.
Nothing proves this greater than Microsoft’s Copilot+ initiative. When you’re less than pace, Microsoft mainly unleashed a wave of AI-driven laptops two years in the past. These needed to include 40 TOPS of processing energy and allowed Copilot to run AI duties regionally, very similar to the Googlebook.
Sadly, most of the people did not actually reply properly to it, primarily as a result of the Copilot+ angle did not actually supply something that satisfied folks that it was the function. In truth, the very best motive to suggest a Copilot+ laptop computer was for the Snapdragon chip, which lowered battery utilization by a notable quantity. The laptop computer, designed to be a software program powerhouse, was much more interesting for its {hardware} alone. The Copilot stuff was simply bloatware, so far as some have been involved.
I paid for Gemini, Claude, and Copilot for a month, however solely one in every of them is definitely worth the subscription
The AI subscription winner will not be who you assume.
The Googlebook’s killer function does not compel me to purchase one, similar to Copilot+
There are some worrying parallels
The Googlebook might succeed if it did one thing genuinely completely different and worthwhile. AI laptops really want that “head-turner” function that elevates them from a gimmick to vital. The issue is, I am probably not seeing that “wow issue” with the Googlebook; in actual fact, once I check out what it could actually do, I mainly see the identical issues that Microsoft promised would revolutionise how we would use PCs.
Take, as an illustration, how deeply the AI is embedded inside the working system itself. For Microsoft’s Copilot+, the highlight function was Recall. The thought was that your laptop computer would take periodic screenshots of your display and use them to create a historical past of the way you used your laptop. Recall then obtained hit with privateness points (not as soon as, however twice), which actually took the wind out of Copilot+’s sails.
Now, we’ve got the Googlebook’s “Magic Pointer.” The thought is that, if you wish to invoke Gemini to investigate one thing in your display, you’ll be able to wiggle your cursor at it. Gemini will then pop up and analyze no matter it’s you are shaking your mouse at. You may wiggle over a date and time, and Gemini will put it in your calendar. Solid your cursor over a knowledge subject, and Gemini will analyze it.
Now, Google’s Magic Pointer function is a superb deal extra respectful of the consumer’s privateness than Recall. Not solely does it not take screenshots of your complete desktop, however you’ll be able to flip it off should you do not prefer it, one thing that you just could not do with Recall when it was first launched. However that is Google’s large flagship function, the one factor that it hopes will shift Googlebooks, and I am simply not impressed by it. And I do not assume many different individuals are, both.
The thought behind the Magic Pointer is that it is meant to chop down the variety of clicks you make to invoke Gemini. As an alternative of, say, grabbing a picture, pasting it right into a Gemini chat window, and asking about it, you wiggle your cursor on the picture such as you’re waving a magic wand, and Gemini will seem to help you.
Is it cool? Certain. Does it make me need to toss my laptop computer within the trash and buy a Googlebook on launch? Completely not. There’s nothing about this function that tells me that AI laptops are the longer term. In truth, I am involved that I would discover it extra of an annoyance than a instrument, particularly if it retains seeing false positives with my cursor motion, or if it completely misses what I needed to share with it. And any flagship function that causes customers to go “Wow, that looks like it would be a ache to make use of” might be not a fantastic flagship function.
I constructed my very own Googlebook with a Raspberry Pi, native LLMs, and previous {hardware}
I turned out significantly better than I anticipated
Google has made a stellar product for an viewers that does not exist
Truthfully, with how briskly AI goes and all of the hype it generates, I do not blame Google for going all-in on AI. Nonetheless, I actually do not assume the Googlebook is what individuals are on the lookout for. Individuals are on the lookout for the tipping level the place AI laptops cease being a novelty and begin altering how folks use their PCs, and Magic Cursor will not be that killer function.