Google has a new operating system and a new laptop platform, but no hardware just yet.
Google is announcing a new line of laptops coming in the fall called Googlebooks. Details are sparse for now, as the tease is just a small part of various Android announcements during Google’s Android Show. But we do know this is a major new initiative in the laptop space for Google, seemingly designed to succeed Chromebooks with something more capable: a platform running a long-rumored new operating system based on a fusion of Android and ChromeOS.
That operating system, through various leaks, has been referred to as Aluminium OS. Google isn’t announcing the OS’s real name or giving many details about it just yet. “We’ll have more to share on the exact OS branding later this year,” Peter Du of Google’s global communications team tells The Verge. “We can confirm it is not Aluminium — that is the codename, not the official branding.”
So, what do we actually know about Googlebooks and their operating system that’s not Aluminium but also not not Aluminium? For starters, Googlebooks are built on the Android technology stack. They’ll run Chrome for web browsing and also run Android apps. They’ll even be able to directly access files from your Android phone and run your apps right off of it so you don’t have to temporarily move your attention across devices. And they’re going to have Gemini Intelligence baked into just about everything — right down to the cursor.
