Back when Googlebooks were first unveiled, Google confirmed that some Chromebooks would eventually get the chance to become Googlebooks. Except one person decided that they didn’t want to wait. Reddit user u/mawitime has successfully booted Googlebook OS on an existing ASUS Chromebook Plus.
This gives us one of the earliest looks at how Google’s new Android-based laptop operating system might behave on current Chromebook hardware. Surprisingly enough, the initial verdict is pretty positive. The user says it runs extremely smoothly and can occasionally seem even faster than ChromeOS. The machine isn’t running some brand-new flagship processor either. It has a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
Keep in mind that this is a homemade solution and not an official installation. The Reddit user described this project as “Frankensteined.” Wi-Fi, sound, and Pixel integration don’t currently work, and getting this far took several days. They relied on Google’s Antigravity coding agent during the process and have since been looking into making the setup more repeatable.
So no, this isn’t secretly an easy way to save yourself from buying a new Googlebook. What it does offer is an interesting proof of concept. Googlebook OS can at least boot and provide a responsive desktop experience on hardware several generations behind the laptops Google is currently selling.
Google officially says many of its newest Chromebook devices will be eligible to transition to Googlebook OS, although it hasn’t announced the full compatibility list or consumer migration process. Existing Chromebooks will continue receiving ChromeOS updates through their supported lifetimes, while qualifying newer hardware will eventually get migration options.
Back in May, we reported that Google VP John Maletis discussed letting existing Chromebooks move toward the new Googlebook experience rather than forcing everyone onto brand-new hardware. This unofficial installation doesn’t tell us which models Google will support. It’s also unclear how polished the official transition will be or whether every Googlebook feature will survive the move. Still, the recent experiment shows that Googlebook OS doesn’t need bleeding-edge hardware to run well.
ASUS has started selling its UGen Intel Arc Pro B70 graphics card in Europe, bringing its take on Intel’s workstation GPU to customers with a hefty €1,799 recommended price. The card is available in Germany and Austria, while ASUS lists it at CHF 1,799 in Switzerland.
Intel first introduced the Arc Pro B70 in March 2026, with its own branded model starting at $949. ASUS’s version arrives several months later with the same core GPU architecture but a different cooling design and a higher power rating. The price also places it well above Intel’s original starting point, although the two prices are not directly comparable because ASUS’s European figure includes VAT.
Anthropic has officially filed to go public, and buried inside its S-1 is a blunt warning about the technology at the center of its business. The maker of Claude AI says advanced AI could cause everything from large-scale cyberattacks and geopolitical instability to catastrophic or even existential risks for humanity.
The warnings take up a surprisingly large part of the filing. Axios notes that more than 90 pages, or roughly a third of the prospectus, focus on risk factors. Many of them warn about what could happen as AI systems become more capable and autonomous.
AI giants have a growing autonomy problem on their hands. A new Axios report has revealed that Anthropic's Claude recently accessed publicly available Georgia vote count without human authorization, sparking fresh concerns about AI security ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.