All posts tagged: chromebooks

Googlebook Is Google’s New AI-Powered Laptop Platform Built on Android

Googlebook Is Google’s New AI-Powered Laptop Platform Built on Android

Published by skeptic

Almost exactly 15 years since Google introduced Chromebooks and ChromeOS—which ushered a wave of cheap, functional, web-based laptops that would come to dominate the US education market—the company has announced a new laptop platform called Googlebook. It’s built around artificial intelligence and Android, and while it isn’t replacing Chromebooks, it could give the company a more meaningful foothold in the premium computer market. Google announced the platform on The Android Show on YouTube, where it also detailed new features coming in Android 17 and Gemini Intelligence (you can read more about that here). Google is purposefully not sharing the operating system’s name yet (it was codenamed Aluminium OS internally); Googlebook is the platform, and Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo have all signed up to produce Googlebooks coming later this fall. The company says it will share more information later this year, but I spoke with Alexander Kuscher, senior director at Google leading Android tablets and laptops, to glean more details. Kuscher says there’s an immense amount of innovation in the Android ecosystem right now, …

Best Chromebooks (2026): Most Are Bad, but These Aren’t

Best Chromebooks (2026): Most Are Bad, but These Aren’t

Published by skeptic

I was delighted to see that the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 didn’t skimp on a crappy touchpad. That goes a long way toward improving the experiencing of actually using the laptop on a moment-by-moment basis. I wasn’t annoyed every time I had to click-and-drag or select a bit of text. This one’s biggest weakness is definitely the screen, which is true of just about every cheap Chromebook I’ve tested. The colors are ugly and desaturated, giving the whole thing a sickly green tint. It’s also not the sharpest in the world, as it’s stretching 1920 x 1200 pixels across a large, 16-inch screen. But in terms of usability and performance, the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 is a great value, combining an Intel Core i3 processor with 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB of storage. For a Chromebook that’s often on sale for $350, it’s a steal. While we’re here, let’s go even cheaper, shall we? Asus has two dirt-cheap Chromebooks that I tested last year that I was mildly impressed by. The Asus …

These Official ChromeOS Flex USB Sticks Can Give Your Old Mac or Windows PC a Second Life

These Official ChromeOS Flex USB Sticks Can Give Your Old Mac or Windows PC a Second Life

Published by skeptic

“People want something that lasts them a long time, that is quality, that is useful,” says Google senior director Alexander Kuscher. “Eventually, when it breaks or when you lose it, you get a new one because you feel taken care of. So I think that builds trust, and the trust is important.” Flex started as an enterprise service for businesses; Google offered companies worried about security vulnerabilities on aging hardware a way to easily update to a more secure operating system. Or, at least, one that still received updates. After a while, other users started to get ahold of the software, downloading and installing it on their own USB sticks for their personal machines. “We didn’t make it particularly easy at the time,” Kuscher says. “But people did it.” What led to the more consumer-oriented push of ChromeOS Flex—like this partnership with Back Market—was the end of software support for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system last fall. While the OS still technically works, it stopped receiving security updates, and Microsoft has encouraged users to update …

Apple’s rumored ‘cheap’ MacBook makes me worried for Windows laptops and Chromebooks

Apple’s rumored ‘cheap’ MacBook makes me worried for Windows laptops and Chromebooks

Published by skeptic

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Apple could announce the launch of a new “cheap” MacBook on March 4. It will likely come with the A18 chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro.  Prices will start around $599.  Rumors of a new “cheap” MacBook have been circulating for years, but it looks like the laptop could finally launch in the next few weeks. On March 4, Apple is set to make a series of product announcements at a “special experience” here in New York, where I’m betting we’ll hear more. Apple’s new affordable 13-inch MacBook is rumored to feature a low-power A18 processor — the same chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro — rather than the typical M-series processors used in MacBooks. This would allow it to keep costs low, particularly if paired with more modest hardware such as a less flashy display and a smaller form factor. Also: Everything Apple may unveil at its March event: iPhone 17e, MacBook M5, new iPads, more  The A18 chip is a …

6 Best 2-in-1 Laptops (2026), WIRED-Approved and Tested

6 Best 2-in-1 Laptops (2026), WIRED-Approved and Tested

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Compare Top 6 2-in-1 Laptops Other 2-in-1 Laptops to Consider Photograph: Luke Larsen Framework Laptop 12 for $549: The Framework Laptop 12 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t just the smallest, cheapest, and most repairable Framework Laptop to come out. It’s also a 2-in-1. The device has a 360-degree hinge that lets you flip the screen all the way around. That’s fitting for a smaller device that’s meant to go everywhere with you. The Framework Laptop 12 is much more than that. Its accessibility is unbeatable, allowing you to upgrade and swap out virtually every component imaginable. That even includes the CPU and motherboard. The starting configuration is just $549, too. Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 for $244: The Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) was one of my favorite pieces of tech when it came out for one reason: its size. This diminutive detachable laptop is only 11 inches, which sounds painful at first. But this isn’t a productivity machine. Rather, it’s better viewed as a companion you can take anywhere for light web …

9 Best Cheap Laptops (2026), Tested and Reviewed

9 Best Cheap Laptops (2026), Tested and Reviewed

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Compare Top 9 Budget Laptops Other Budget Laptops to Consider HP OmniBook 5 16 for $630: The HP OmniBook 5 16 shares a lot in common with the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 16. It has right around the same size chassis and comes with the same Intel processor. It’s also dinged by a similar budget display that isn’t very color-accurate. It’s decent, but the discount on the $550 IdeaPad 5i above makes it the better option. I haven’t tested the Snapdragon X Plus version of the OmniBook 5 16, but based on my other reviews, I have a feeling that its current selling price of $550 is a crazy-good deal. Lenovo LOQ 15. Photograph: Luke Larsen Lenovo LOQ 15 for $779: I tested the RTX 5060 model of the LOQ 15, which is an incredible deal. The RTX 5050 model is also a solid option. It’s not quite as cheap as the Acer Nitro V 16, but it doesn’t have the power adapter issue and has a better design. The LOQ 15 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) …

8 Best Laptops (2026), WIRED-Tested and Approved

8 Best Laptops (2026), WIRED-Tested and Approved

Published by skeptic

Compare Top 8 Laptops How Much Should You Spend on a Laptop? AccordionItemContainerButton If you’re shopping for a laptop, you probably have an idea of how much you want to spend. But some context might help put things in perspective. The cheapest laptops cost around $200, but they can range up to $5,000. Meanwhile, the average amount people spend, according to the best data we have, is around $750. That lands decidedly in the midrange, spitting between the more expensive devices that are over $1,000 and the budget-tier machines you find below $700. When we talk about pricing, it’s often the “starting” price of the laptop, meaning the lowest-priced configuration. This is really important to consider, as you want to compare devices apples-to-apples as much as possible. For example, a cheaper laptop might start at $750 with 256 GB of storage, while a more premium laptop might start at this same price but come with 512 GB or even 1 TB of storage. Increasingly, you can find some really decent laptops around this price, some …

Aluminium OS: Everything We Know About the Chromebook Successor

Aluminium OS: Everything We Know About the Chromebook Successor

Published by skeptic

It’s never fun to be in last place. Google has been coasting along with its Android tablets and Chromebooks for years, playing second fiddle to the bigger players in the game. But the company has a new card up its sleeve: the upcoming merger of its two platforms into something entirely new. Word on the street is that it’s called Aluminium OS, and it’s coming sooner than you might think. What Is Aluminium OS? Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of devices and services. Courtesy of Drew Angerer/Getty Images Ever since the failed launch of the Pixel Slate back in 2018, which was Google’s first attempt at integrating ChromeOS and Android, onlookers have been wondering what the future of these platforms would be. Reports about a new desktop operating system have been mucking around for years, something that blends ChromeOS with Android. Google talked about interoperability improvements between ChromeOS and Android at Google I/O 2025. In the past decade, Google has made small moves toward integrating these two operating systems, but it has been incremental, starting …