Google's High-End Laptops Try to Woo MacBook Buyers with Premium Build Quality

Google has unveiled five new laptops in collaboration with major manufacturers Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Asus. The devices, called Googlebooks, are positioned as a new category of laptops rather than Chromebooks or rebranded versions.

The prices start at $899 for an Acer model, with other systems reaching up to $1,299. These machines feature premium materials and components such as aluminum or magnesium alloys, carbon fiber, high-resolution touchscreens, and speedy processors from Intel Core Ultra 5 or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite.

Under the hood, the initial machines offer a choice of Intel Core Ultra 5 or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors, paired with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. MediaTek's SoCs are also used for the systems, including Nvidia's GB10-based RTX Spark APU. However, it seems that only one configuration is available for pre-order, which includes 16 GB of memory.

ChromeOS device sales were predicted to shrink by 27.6 percent in 2026 due to a shift towards higher-margin devices. The new Googlebooks try to woo users with their premium build quality and more compute power, targeting those who might buy an Apple MacBook Neo or Air.