Lenovo Googlebook 15 review: great hardware, but Googlebook OS needs more polish
Engadget's reviewer gave the Lenovo Googlebook 15, which runs Google's new Googlebook OS, 7.9 out of 10. The hardware is praised, while the software still lacks polish and app compatibility.
Tech outlet Engadget has published a review of the Lenovo Googlebook 15, a laptop running Google's new Googlebook OS, which combines features of Android and ChromeOS. Lenovo's model is among the first machines on the platform. Reviewer Sam Rutherford rated it 7.9 out of 10, concluding that the hardware is excellent but the first-generation software needs to mature.
Design and display
The laptop has a 15.3-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, 500 nits of typical brightness and HDR True Black 1000 certification. The chassis combines plastic and carbon fiber, with a magnesium-aluminum alloy lid. It weighs 2.85 pounds, less than a 14-inch MacBook Pro at 3 pounds. It has quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, two USB-C ports, one USB-A, HDMI, a 3.5mm audio jack and a large haptic touchpad. A lightbar on the lid changes color depending on activity, such as charge level.
Performance and software
Google requires every Googlebook to have at least 16GB of RAM. The tested unit has an Intel Core Ultra 5 325 chip and 256GB of storage. Its Geekbench 7 multi-core score is 9,011, compared with 7,124 for a similarly priced Dell XPS 13 with an Intel Core 5 320.
The main strength is integration with Android phones: after scanning a QR code, users can drag and drop files, cast phone apps, sync notifications and continue browsing. File transfers are limited to 200MB, and casting games causes a noticeable drop in frame rate.
The weaknesses involve apps. Many are mobile versions only, Photoshop among them, and the Play Store labels apps with five optimization levels. Some apps have display glitches or cannot fill the screen.
Battery
The battery is 70Wh. In a local video playback test it lasted eight and a half hours, and after a full eight-hour workday it still had 20 percent left.
The reviewer recommends the laptop to committed Android users, while others may be better off waiting for a more mature version of the OS.
