Googlebook OS Could Recast Android Tablets, Eventually Reaching Phones on Android 17
Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Oct 28
Googlebook OS Could Recast Android Tablets, Eventually Reaching Phones on Android 17
1 articles · Updated · Computerworld · Oct 28
Summary
Googlebook OS — a specialized version of Android 17 — feels more convincing as a future tablet platform than as a full laptop replacement, JR Raphael argues after testing Lenovo’s new Googlebook.
15 years after Android’s Honeycomb tablet push, he says Googlebook OS revives the large-screen ideas Google largely abandoned, pairing an Android-like interface with ChromeOS-style browser and phone-linking features.
That mix could let Google relaunch a tablet category it has repeatedly reset — from Honeycomb to Pixel Slate to Pixel Tablet — while offering better keyboard use and more desktop-class web access.
Raphael extends the idea beyond tablets, suggesting that if Googlebook OS keeps evolving and Android and web apps keep converging, the same software could eventually power phones too.