Google has discontinued ChromeOS and announced Googlebook, a new premium laptop category running Android 17 (internally called Aluminium OS) with Gemini embedded at the OS level. The flagship feature, Magic Pointer, turns the cursor into a context-aware AI agent that can read screen content and proactively suggest actions without requiring explicit prompts. A second feature, Create your Widget, lets users describe custom widgets in natural language and Gemini builds them by pulling data from Google services. Devices will ship this autumn from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. The move abandons Chromebook's low-cost positioning in favor of premium hardware, raising questions about the education market where Chromebooks hold over 60% share. Google's broader strategy is to make Gemini the universal intelligence layer across its 3.6 billion-device Android ecosystem.
