Now that Googlebooks have arrived, one thing is apparent: they’re an investment. With a starting price of $899, they’re likely to be the only laptop you own.
So as with any venture in which you’re going to sink a significant amount of cash, you should be as prepared as possible before you commit.
While they all have haptic glass trackpads, backlit keyboards, Dolby Atmos speakers, and responsive touchscreens, there are some major differences between them.
For commuting and travel
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The Asus Googlebook 14 is the one you take with you for a daily commute or business trips. It’s slim and lightweight (15.9 millimeters thick and 2.2 pounds) and has a matte 14-inch 2.8K OLED touchscreen that lets you see what’s on it in the glare of sunlight or the reflection of lighting in coffee shops.
It has Intel Core Ultra 5 and 7 Series 3 processors, and pairs 16 to 32 gigabytes of RAM with up to 512 gigabytes of internal storage.
There’s a price for portability, though, and it starts at $1,299.
The work companion
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Is there any laptop brand more synonymous with work than Lenovo?
The Lenovo Googlebook 15 lives up to its reputation in looks and in function. It’s a substantial 2.84 pounds and is 15.9 millimeters thick. And, as my colleague Andy Boxall put it in his hands-on, is the “biggest and ugliest.”
It should provide a solid workday experience, with Intel Core Ultra 5 and 7 Series 3 processors, 16GB RAM, and up to 512GB of storage.
The price tag is in the highest range for Googlebooks, starting at $1299, so hopefully it’s either a writeoff or your company is picking up the tab.
The knockaround
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The Dell XPS Googlebook confounds me and maybe that’s because Google repeatedly described it as “hipster.” An outdated term, but one I associate with creative directors and graphic designers, so why it has an LCD touchscreen instead of an OLED one and a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor instead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 and 7 Series 3 processors on some other Googlebooks confounds me.
It is very easy to tote, though, at 12.7 millimeters thick and 2.2 pounds. The starting price sits just below the highest of the Googlebooks, at $1199.
For those who can’t let go
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If local storage is what you’re looking for, the HP Googlebook 14 has it, with a range of 256GB to 1TB.
It comes with 16GB to 32GB RAM and has a nice-looking 14-inch 2.8K OLED touchscreen. It is a little heavy to carry at 2.74 pounds, and the price is even heftier, starting at $1299.
Convertible converts
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Personally, I have never seen the appeal of convertible laptops. They’re chunky in their “tablet” form and I find that when they’re in their laptop form and you’re rushing from meeting to meeting with them open, the screen can go topsy-turvy at the most inopportune times.
But if you’re a convertible fan, there’s only one in the lineup and it’s the Acer Googlebook 14. True to form for my experience, the transformation during rotation was not always smooth during my hands-on.
It’s still solid, though, with a 14-inch 2.8k OLED touchscreen and Intel Core Ultra 5 and 7 Series 3 processors. It comes with 16GB of RAM and 256GB to 512GB of storage. It weighs 2.51 pounds and is 13.9 mm thick.
The one thing it really has going for it is the lowest starting price, at $899.
How and where to buy them
Preorders for all of the Googlebooks are now open on the Google Store and Best Buy. If you want to see them in person first, they’ll be in stores (Best Buy and “select retailers”) on Oct. 4.
Googlebooks come with 10 years of automatic updates at launch. Google AI Pro with 5TB of cloud storage and Gemini Advanced tools is free for a year., Also included are three months of YouTube Premium and Adobe Photoshop and one year of Nvidia Gforce now.