These brands will be the first to launch Googlebook laptops, and there's one big name missing

A new category of Google laptop is entering the fray, and they’re called Googlebooks. Announced during The Android Show I/O Edition, Googlebooks are Android-powered laptops that will be made by partner manufacturers starting this fall. Google is planning to share more details about Googlebooks later this year, but it already revealed teaser renders for the upcoming laptops, and the names of five partners that will make them.

So far, we know that Googlebooks run software built on the Android technology stack and the newly announced Gemini Intelligence. Google also confirmed that Googlebooks will all have a premium design with a hallmark “Glowbar” on the top of the outer lid. The exact design and form factor for each Googlebook model will vary, but the emphasis on build quality and premium materials will remain consistent across brands.

This isn’t the first time Google has partnered with manufacturers to make laptops, so it’s not surprising that the company is calling upon five Chromebook-makers to kick off the Googlebook launch starting this fall. The first Googlebooks to debut will be made by Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, with potentially more names to follow. This isn’t a final list, but rather, the confirmed brands set to release some of the first Googlebooks.

It seems fitting that many of the brands preparing to launch Googlebooks have experience making both Chromebooks and Android tablets. Googlebooks are built on the Android technology stack, and although Google hasn’t confirmed the exact name for the operating system that will power them, it certainly sounds like the Aluminium OS project. Bringing in companies like Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo, which have made Android and ChromeOS hardware in the past, to make Googlebooks could be a sound strategy.

There is one name missing, though, and that’s Samsung. Google’s premium laptop offerings to date fall under the Chromebook Plus brand, and Samsung makes a premium Chromebook Plus laptop in the Galaxy Chromebook Plus. The official Shop Chromebook website lists six partner brands: Acer, ASUS, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, and Dell. The only Chromebook partner listed on Google’s site that isn’t confirmed to be making a Googlebook is Samsung.

The omission doesn’t rule out Samsung from making Googlebooks in the future — or from continuing to make Chromebook Plus models. Google reinforced that Googlebooks aren’t replacing Chromebooks, and emphasized Chromebooks would remain supported for their 10-year lifespan. However, it did stop short of confirming new Chromebook models are coming.

For now, we know that every Chromebook manufacturer except Samsung will usher in the Googlebook era this fall. Pricing, form factors, and other details are sparse at the moment. We’ll have to see what Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo have in store for the first set of Googlebook laptops later this year.