These laptops feature deep Android phone integration, allowing app casting and cross-device functionality, while supporting Android games through Google Play Store. Despite Google partnering with major manufacturers like HP and Dell, success remains uncertain given past mixed results with similar initiatives. We've been hearing about Google's push to unite Android and ChromeOS into a new laptop operating system rumored to be called "Aluminum" for a while now. A week before this year's Google I/O conference, the company is ready to talk about it. And to the surprise of absolutely friggin' no one, these seem more interested in Gemini "AI" than the actual product.

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.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This is one powerful laptop. Alienware's beefy 16-inch Area 51 packs excellent CPU and GPU performance, though battery life suffers. The Alienware Area 51 is a laptop with history. The first Alienware Area 51 desktop was released back in 1998, and then came the Area 51 laptops in the 2000s. Fast forward to today and the Alienware Area 51 is still among the most powerful laptops available and capable of record-setting performance.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I'll never buy another laptop without Windows Hello It's so important, I even go out of my way to add it to my desktop PCs! I review a lot of laptops here at PCWorld, and I'm always surprised when I unbox one without biometric hardware. Fingerprint readers and infrared (IR) cameras for facial recognition are both great--and some laptops even have both! But then you have those that skip the biometric hardware entirely, which is a huge loss these days.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The HP OmniBook 5 was weak at full price, but the performance is solid at this deal price. A great daily driver laptop doesn't have to cost a fortune, and this HP OmniBook 5 is proof of that. Right now, B&H is selling it for just $699, a significant $200 drop off its original $899. With an Intel Core Ultra 7 255U, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD, this laptop boots quickly, loads apps even faster, and provides enough storage space for years of files and documents.

Every time my cat Mira walks across a keyboard, I learn a few new Mac and PC keyboard shortcuts I never knew about. All cats love keyboards (but this is not a photo of my cat). My cat Mira is perfect, and has never done anything wrong. She also loves walking on laptop keys--both my MacBook and my wife Kathy's Windows PC . You might think that walking on laptops is an example of Mira doing something wrong. And, in any case, we've both learned a lot about how our computers work because of this.

I tested all the major webcams across the price spectrum in attempts to find the very best. Here's what I learned.

What to Know About Sony's $7.85 Million PlayStation Settlement Are you eligible for a payout? Probably, but it might take a while and will likely be pretty small. Sony, owner of the PlayStation brand, has been accused of antitrust practices. The lawsuit was originally settled in 2024 but was rejected twice during the approval process. Last week, a judge approved a preliminary reopening of the settlement.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I was surprised by how useful the second screen actually is. Wired connectivity doesn't include Ethernet The ROG Zephyrus Duo successfully brings the dual-screen design of the Asus ZenBook Duo to a gaming laptop, though at a high price. Do you like having a screen on your laptop? The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo has two of them! While most games don't readily support display across multiple screens simultaneously, extra display space is always appreciated, especially if you often need to watch a guide or refer to external websites while playing ( players, I'm looking at you). Instead, it's a robust, attractive, and well-executed dual-screen laptop, though it does have a notable problem.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Discover MSI's 2026 AI-powered laptops, including the Prestige 16 Flip AI+, Stealth 16 AI+, and Raider 16 MAX HX - designed for productivity, portability, and high-performance gaming. CES 2026 highlighted a major shift in computing: AI-powered PCs designed for everyday users. These new AI laptops and AI PCs combine dedicated AI acceleration, powerful GPUs, and modern processors to support everything from productivity to gaming. Companies like MSI are now building AI capabilities directly into their latest laptops, making advanced features like AI-assisted productivity, content creation, and gaming performance available across multiple device categories.