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

WIRED

Googlebook Is Google's New AI-Powered Laptop Platform Built on Android They won't replace Chromebooks, but Googlebooks have an Android-centered operating system, AI-first features like the Magic Pointer, and a promise of desktop-grade apps. 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 Top New Features in Google's Android 17--and Gemini Intelligence--Coming This Summer

WIRED

You'll soon be able to generate your own widgets or ask Gemini to finish a booking in Chrome on Android. The Google I/O annual developer conference is around the corner--May 19--but in what is quickly becoming a tradition, Google announced new features for Android and Gemini a week early. The news came on Tuesday via the second-ever Android Show on YouTube . This livestreamed presentation helps Google spread out the cavalcade of updates from the often jam-packed I/O keynote. The Android Show focused on new features in Android 17, the next version of Android coming later this summer, as well as several updates to the Gemini assistant experience. It continues the theme set last year by Sameer Samat, president of the Android ecosystem, of turning Android into an "intelligent operating system."


There's an Unhinged New Video Game About Trump and the Iran War

WIRED

The game, developed by the group of anonymous artists known as Secret Handshake, is available online and in person in Washington, DC. A new video game about President Donald Trump's war in Iran features fights with the pope and New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani . It's impossible to win, and that's the point. The game,, was developed by Secret Handshake, an anonymous group of artists behind a handful of satirical works mocking the Trump administration. The group previously installed a gold statue of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein on the National Mall; it portrayed Trump holding onto Epstein in a pose reminiscent of Jack and Rose from the movie .


The 19 Most Exciting Cars at the Beijing Auto Show 2026

WIRED

The cars that debuted at the Beijing Auto Show demonstrate that the Chinese market is now at the forefront of electrification and intelligence. These are the 19 most intriguing models we saw. The newest concept car from Lynk & Co was revealed at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show. While major motor shows in Europe and the United States are being forced to downsize or change their format, those in China continue to expand. With 1,451 vehicles on display, including 181 world premieres, the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition 2026 (also known as Auto China 2026) has become the largest auto show in history--and that's in terms of both exhibition space and the number of vehicles on display. This fact itself reflects a shift in the center of gravity of the automotive industry, but that's not all. A much larger structural transformation is actually taking place in China today. Previously, the focus was on low-priced electric vehicle models, but now price is no longer the primary point of competition.


The Pentagon Releases New Trove of Declassified UFO Files

WIRED

The Defense Department has released a new trove of declassified documents about government UFO sightings. The Pentagon released a batch of much-anticipated files about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) on Friday, including newly declassified documents that have never been seen by the public before. The release of roughly 160 documents was rolled out on a new website . Among the trove is video footage and images of tantalizing UAP sightings captured around the world. The files also contain scanned historical material about government UAP and unidentified flying object (UFO) programs dating back to the 1940s and the Apollo program.


We Asked Coffee Pros to Blind Test Coffee Machines. The Results Were Surprising

WIRED

We Asked Coffee Pros to Blind Test Coffee Machines. For our latest WIRED Blind Test, we sat coffee industry professionals down to rank leading do-it-all coffee machines--and the winner wasn't what anyone expected. What do you love about coffee? Is it the caffeine boost in the morning, the creamy sweetness of a cappuccino or latte, the bucket of filter coffee you can sip on all day, or the quick kick of a good espresso? Or is it the zen-like ritual of it all, the measuring of beans and the precision of the perfect extraction? Good thing it's much better for you than science previously realized.


Google Is Rebranding the Fitbit App to 'Google Health'

WIRED

Google is sunsetting Google Fit by year’s end. While Fitbit remains very much alive, the rebranded Google Health app is your one-stop shop for all things health and fitness.


Google Ditches the Screen With the New Fitbit Air (2026)

WIRED

Powered by Gemini and designed around simplicity, the new Fitbit Air could be a compelling fitness tracker alternative to Whoop. Five years after acquiring Fitbit, and three years since it released the Charge 6, Google is finally expanding into a new phase of fitness tracking . With its screen-free design, the new Fitbit Air could be the first device to threaten Whoop's grip on this category, thanks in large part to Google's intuitive, user-friendly software. The Fitbit Air is Google's most minimalist wearable yet. There's no AMOLED display, no haptic side button, and none of the visual feedback loops that have defined Fitbit devices (and most fitness trackers) for years.


Exclusive: Metalenz Has Figured Out a Way to Make Face ID Invisible

WIRED

Metalenz's Polar ID face-scanning technology works even when the camera is hidden under the display. The notch has largely been replaced on today's smartphones by floating punch-hole cameras that take up less space and look a little more futuristic, though notches are still prevalent on some laptops, like Apple's MacBooks . On the iPhone, Apple calls its floating pill-shaped camera system the Dynamic Island, which debuted on the iPhone 14 . The iPhone still has the largest camera cutout today, due to its Face ID biometric authentication system. This island could get much smaller, however, thanks to new under-display camera technology announced at Display Week 2026 from Metalenz, a optics startup from Boston.


WIRED's Smart Home Ecosystem Guide (2026)

WIRED

The answer may already be in your home. To achieve a smart home, you need a voice assistant to run it. A smart home assistant, usually folded into a smart speaker, will let you command your smart home with your voice and run your various routines. It also acts as a center for every gadget you want to add to your home. And you can add almost anything these days, from smart garage control to even voice-commanding your blinds .