Googlebooks will be better than the MacBook Neo for one simple reason — and it's not performance

Google’s latest attempt at making premium laptops is here, and they’re called Googlebooks. Putting the silly name aside, Googlebooks look poised to strike the perfect balance between the versatile ChromeOS ecosystem and the premium design of the now-discontinued Pixelbooks.

In short, Googlebooks are mobile computers in a premium chassis designed for basic tasks. Where have I heard that before? The same description applies verbatim to Apple’s new MacBook Neo. Assuming Googlebooks are priced similarly to the MacBook Neo (I’d think they would have to be for the sake of competitiveness), these brands look primed to go up against each other later this year.

Despite the fanfare and critical acclaim the MacBook Neo continues to garner, I’m betting on Googlebooks to come out ahead. Googlebooks are honest about what they are, with an Android-powered OS that looks like a perfect fit to run on mid-tier laptop hardware.

Yes, the MacBook Neo has a RAM problem

I’ve used a lot of macOS and Windows machines over the years at every price point, powered by Apple, Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Budget and mid-tier laptops running macOS and Windows all seem to have one thing in common: they offer the illusion of flexibility and versatility by offering full-fledged desktop app support. In theory, a cheap MacBook Neo or a similarly priced Windows laptop supports plenty of desktop apps. That doesn’t mean, however, that the hardware is powerful enough to run them well.

I’m skeptical of the MacBook Neo, and my hesitation has nothing to do with the laptop’s raw performance. By all indications, the Apple A18 Pro chip inside performs better than the M1 chip in single-core tasks. My concern lies with the minimal 8GB of memory and the mere 256GB or 512GB of onboard storage. I used a Mac mini with the M2 chip, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB for a full year, and it didn’t go well. I frequently ran out of application memory, which means the operating system locked up, and apps had to be force-quit to make my computer usable again.

Remember, the M2 chip in the Mac mini I owned is generally faster than the A18 Pro chip in the MacBook Neo. The Mac mini’s chassis is also better for airflow, and unlike the MacBook Neo, it has a fan. In other words, if I had issues with the Mac mini, the MacBook Neo could be even worse.

It’s not just me — many MacBook users on Reddit complain about running out of application memory on systems with 8GB of RAM. This is an issue that will only get worse over time, as macOS uses free SSD space as virtual memory to compensate for physical unified memory limits. When your SSD fills up in a year or two, the MacBook Neo will have less virtual memory to use, and you’ll start to feel the memory limits.

You might be wondering why macOS and Windows laptops struggle with 8GB of RAM, but Android and ChromeOS devices excel with fewer gigabytes of memory and generally weaker hardware. The simple explanation is that Android and ChromeOS are designed with low-power devices in mind, and ChromeOS specifically offloads processing to the cloud whenever possible. Googlebooks will take the same approach, and it could help them perform better with the same or weaker hardware than a similar macOS or Windows laptop.

Googlebooks and Android could be the perfect pair

Googlebooks are built on the Android technology stack and should have similar software capabilities to Android tablets and Chromebooks. This might sound like a limitation at first, but it doesn’t have to be.

For one, Google wants Android to be the operating system powering your phone, watch, tablet, car, and laptop — it’s supposed to be a unified “intelligence system” linked by Gemini Intelligence. Presumably, this means Google is laser-focused on making sure Googlebooks deliver a laptop-class computing experience.

It’ll do that in a few ways, like by elevating the traditional cursor experience with a Gemini-powered Magic Pointer that dynamically adapts with contextual suggestions as you use a Googlebook. It will also bring Android features to the desktop version of the OS, such as the newly announced Create my Widget tool. Smart connection with your other Android devices is the name of the game, since Quick Access will connect a Googlebook’s file browser to your phone’s files without manual transfers or sharing. Integration between Android phones and Windows 11 is decent with Microsoft’s Phone Link, but Googlebooks should make for a perfect pairing.

I’m looking at Android itself as the killer feature of Googlebooks. To date, Android apps haven’t been on par with their desktop counterparts. In fact, many iPadOS apps are more fully featured than their Android equivalents, too. I’ve even found the default Chrome browser to be lacking in desktop webpage support on foldables and tablets. I’d guess some of these limitations will be addressed when Googlebooks launch, but it feels safe to assume these laptops will primarily run Android and/or ChromeOS apps. Even if Linux app support is there, I doubt the Googlebook’s target audience is likely to fiddle with it.

Reframe your thinking, and Android on a laptop doesn’t sound so bad. A desktop operating system is more versatile when the hardware is powerful enough to handle it. If the Googlebook market is made up of budget and mid-tier laptops, Android could prove to be the more stable and enjoyable OS to use. You can easily overwhelm a MacBook Neo with demanding apps and workflows, but Android apps on a Googlebook are already optimized for low-powered hardware. Running mobile apps designed to run on the hardware you have is usually better than trying to use intensive programs that want more memory or processing power, and that’s why Googlebooks and Android will win.

Googlebooks leave me with more questions than answers

All of this is a bit speculative because we don’t know exactly what hardware Googlebooks will offer until later this year. I’m assuming it’ll be comparable to premium Chromebook Plus models and in the same class as the MacBook Neo, but that remains to be seen.

The biggest question mark is the price. Googlebooks can’t be more than $700 — the price of the MacBook Neo with 512GB storage and Touch ID — if they want to capture the budget and midrange segments. The emphasis on premium materials throws me for a loop, because an Android-powered laptop would be a tough sell at a price closer to $1,000.

That said, if Googlebooks land in the same sphere as the MacBook Neo, they’ll end up as the better option for students and casual users. The issue with ChromeOS was never really the software, but rather the inconsistent hardware. Googlebooks are well-positioned to offer more reliable hardware than Chromebooks while retaining the same solid software approach, and I’m here for it.