Acer and ASUS have announced their first Googlebooks, laptops built for Google's new Googlebook OS with Gemini wired into the interface and Android phone apps a click away. Both run Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips. Only Acer has a price: the Acer Googlebook 14 starts at $899 in North America and €1,199 in EMEA, both in October, and AUD 2,599 in Australia in November, with Acer calling all three limited-time offers.
Two 14-inch machines built for different buyers
Acer's model (GP714-91N) is a convertible with 360-degree hinges, a 2880×1800 OLED touchscreen rated at 500 nits, and USI 2.0 stylus support. It takes a Core Ultra 5 325 or Core Ultra 7 355, which Acer says brings an NPU of up to 50 TOPS, with up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X-7467 and up to 512 GB of PCIe 4.0 storage. It weighs 1.14 kg at 13.9 mm, and Acer quotes up to 16 hours of battery life. Acer lists one Thunderbolt 4 and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports.
The ASUS Googlebook 14 is a clamshell aimed at thin-and-light buyers. It starts at 0.99 kg and 10.9 mm, takes up to a Core Ultra 7 Series 3 chip, and doubles Acer's ceilings with up to 64 GB of LPDDR5X and a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. Its 3K OLED runs at 120Hz with up to 1,000 nits peak HDR brightness, and a 70Wh battery carries an ASUS claim of up to 18 hours. Ports are two Thunderbolt 4, two 10Gbps USB-A and HDMI 2.1b.
What Googlebook OS adds
Both carry the same software pitch. Magic Pointer calls up Gemini when you wiggle the cursor, so you can select something on screen and ask about it; proactive suggestions offer actions based on what is showing; and tasks can move from an Android phone to the laptop, with phone apps cast across without installing them. ASUS's footnotes say Magic Pointer needs an internet connection and is limited to users 18 and over. Both machines include 12 months of Google AI Pro, which ASUS values at $239.88 and which then renews at $19.99 a month.
Google's laptop VP, quoted in Acer's release, describes the shift as moving "from a traditional operating system to an intelligence system." Acer frames the launch as the next step in an alliance with Google that began with its first Chromebooks 15 years ago.
What the releases leave out
Neither release includes a performance figure beyond Acer's NPU rating, and the battery hours are vendor claims with no test conditions attached. ASUS hasn't given a price or ship date either. Acer never actually says which processor, memory and storage the $899 configuration gets, and at up to 32 GB and 512 GB its ceiling sits well below the ASUS model's. Neither says how many years of updates Googlebook OS will get.