The Chromebook-to-Googlebook migration got an unofficial preview
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Back when Googlebooks were first unveiled, Google confirmed that some Chromebooks would eventually get the chance to become Googlebooks. Except one person decided that they didn’t want to wait. Reddit user u/mawitime has successfully booted Googlebook OS on an existing ASUS Chromebook Plus.
This gives us one of the earliest looks at how Google’s new Android-based laptop operating system might behave on current Chromebook hardware. Surprisingly enough, the initial verdict is pretty positive. The user says it runs extremely smoothly and can occasionally seem even faster than ChromeOS. The machine isn’t running some brand-new flagship processor either. It has a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
Don’t wipe your Chromebook just yet
Keep in mind that this is a homemade solution and not an official installation. The Reddit user described this project as “Frankensteined.” Wi-Fi, sound, and Pixel integration don’t currently work, and getting this far took several days. They relied on Google’s Antigravity coding agent during the process and have since been looking into making the setup more repeatable.
So no, this isn’t secretly an easy way to save yourself from buying a new Googlebook. What it does offer is an interesting proof of concept. Googlebook OS can at least boot and provide a responsive desktop experience on hardware several generations behind the laptops Google is currently selling.
Google has plans to do this properly
Google officially says many of its newest Chromebook devices will be eligible to transition to Googlebook OS, although it hasn’t announced the full compatibility list or consumer migration process. Existing Chromebooks will continue receiving ChromeOS updates through their supported lifetimes, while qualifying newer hardware will eventually get migration options.
Back in May, we reported that Google VP John Maletis discussed letting existing Chromebooks move toward the new Googlebook experience rather than forcing everyone onto brand-new hardware. This unofficial installation doesn’t tell us which models Google will support. It’s also unclear how polished the official transition will be or whether every Googlebook feature will survive the move. Still, the recent experiment shows that Googlebook OS doesn’t need bleeding-edge hardware to run well.
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