A Googlebook ‘Celebration’ Event Is Set For October 5

Google will soon reveal much more about the first wave of Googlebooks, its new lineup of Android-based laptops. The company revealed on Monday that it’ll open up pre-orders on September 21 and now it has announced a “celebration” of the devices, about which it hasn’t said much since May.

It will show off the hardware in New York City on October 5 at an event it’s calling Opening Night. The soiree will feature “interactive showcases and the debut of the first laptop designed for Gemini Intelligence,” Google said in an invite. Googlebooks may start shipping around that time too — the company will surely want to start selling it before the holiday shopping season.

It feels odd for Google to formally show off said laptop for the first time weeks after it starts taking pre-orders. Perhaps we’ll get more details about these devices by the time Google starts taking people’s money for them next week.

What we do know is that these AI-centric Googlebooks run on a version of ChromeOS that’s based on Android. As a result, they’ll have deep integration with Android phones. Google’s long-standing partners Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo are making Googlebooks, which will have a “glowbar” on the lid.

The laptops have a feature called Magic Pointer. When you hover over something on your screen, it will suggest contextual actions you can take. You’ll first need to enable Magic Pointer by wiggling the cursor, so it’s not on all the time. Googlebooks are also adopting a feature from Android 17 that enables you to generate a custom widget.