MacBook Neo and Googlebook: Apple and Google’s new bets to reinvent the laptop

Google presented Googlebooka new category of notebook that leaves behind the traditional idea of ​​an operating system focused solely on applications and files to transform it, as defined by the company itself, into a “intelligence system”.

The announcement was made during the virtual event The Android Show by Alexander Kuscher, ChromeOS software director. Although the company avoided showing definitive images and complete specifications, it did leave a clear signal: artificial intelligence will no longer be an additional function within the computer; It will be the core of the entire experience.

The main novelty behind the Googlebook does not appear in the screen, the design or the internal components. It is in the way the computer seeks to relate to the user.

The new equipment will be built on technology Androidpresent on cell phones, and will have a much deeper integration with GeminiGoogle’s artificial intelligence.

The bet points to something different from traditional virtual assistants. Instead of opening an app to ask for help, the AI ​​will work permanent and contextual about everything that happens on the screen.

The example of this innovation is Magic Pointera tool developed together with the team of Google DeepMind that seeks to transform one of the oldest elements of computing: the cursor.

Google wants the cursor trackpad stop being a simple selection tool and become a kind of smart assistant in real time.

The idea seems simple, but it modifies a historical logic for notebooks in the segment. By moving the pointer over different elements, Gemini will interpret the context and suggest automatic actions.

For example, if the user marks a date within an email, a meeting can be automatically generated. If you select two images (for example, a living room and an armchair) the AI ​​will allow you to view How would that object look in space?.

Although the presentation saved several important parts, such as the processor, RAM, autonomy, storage capacity, variety of models and price; They did reveal some characteristics.

The new series of laptops will have a glow bar called “Glowbar”located on the computer and composed of Google’s characteristic colors. According to Kuscher, this visual accessory will not only be decorative: it will function as an element associated with the intelligent interactions of the system.

In this way, he hopes that the first Googlebooks will emerge from agreements with traditional brands in the PC ecosystem such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP y Lenovo.

Meanwhile, Google confirmed that Chromebooks won’t go away. They will continue to receive support and will coexist with the new family of devices.

According to reports, the first Googlebook models will arrive in the second half of 2026, with Estimated prices between USD 1,299 and 1,799.

After the announcement, the most immediate comparison appears with the recently announced MacBook Neo de Appleanother release that attempts to redefine entry into a historic category. But both computers start from very different philosophies.

The Neo searches democratize access to the Mac ecosystem reducing price barriers. With an international initial value of $599Apple built a laptop focused on students and everyday users, maintaining traditional features of the brand: recycled aluminum body, 13-inch Liquid Retina display, Full HD camera, Magic Keyboard and a familiar visual experience.

Puertas interior also adopts a particular strategy: it uses the processor A18 Proinherited from the iPhone family, instead of the higher-power M chips.

Its goal, like the Apple spirit, is to offer a efficient computer for common tasksproductivity, study, navigation and basic artificial intelligence functions.

Googlebook, meanwhile, poses a different logic.

While Apple continues to organize the experience around hardware and the classic operating system, Google reverses the order: places AI as a starting point.

The difference seems subtle, but it changes the entire approach. On the Neo, artificial intelligence functions as an additional layer within the macOS ecosystem. On Googlebookthe computer seems designed around Gemini from the first moment. The answer, as usual, will be up to the user.