Googlebooks First Impressions: Strong Phone Integration, Rough Edges

The Verge said the Android phone integrations are the strongest part. Setting up a Googlebook with an Android phone is simple and painless, prompting users to scan a QR code, sign into a Google account, and download apps already installed on the phone. Casting apps from the phone, migrating a task to the laptop with one click, accessing phone files, and receiving phone notifications on the laptop all work well, according to the report. The report noted that phone-laptop linking already exists on Windows and macOS, but Googlebooks allow users to take actions on their phone from the laptop in a way that feels natural when it works. These features let users keep working on the laptop while staying connected to the phone, though some are rough around the edges.

App casting, which lets users run phone apps directly on a Googlebook, feels natural when launched from the laptop's app drawer rather than mirroring the entire phone screen. But The Verge found that this creates duplicate apps in the Googlebook's two app drawers and does not prevent users from running desktop and mobile versions at the same time, even with Chrome. Clicking synced notifications, such as Slack, can open a casted app instead of a web or native app. Casted apps also sometimes show pixelated text or oddly proportioned interfaces and feel slightly sluggish in animations and scrolling compared with native desktop apps.

The Continue On feature, which temporarily pins an app from the phone to the Googlebook taskbar, is described as super neat. If a spreadsheet is open on the phone, it can be moved to the laptop with one click. But The Verge said most apps it tried did not sync with that functionality, including Google Maps and Calendar, and the feature seems mostly limited to Google Docs and Sheets for now. Pulling files directly from the phone to the laptop, by contrast, simply works, the report said.

The Glowbar, a light strip on the lid that faces away from the user, gives Googlebooks a signature look but does not do much, according to The Verge. It normally glows white while the laptop is in use, alternates colors when the user talks to Gemini, and briefly displays a Google rainbow when the lid is closed before the device sleeps. Its most useful function is showing charge level, but it only pulses a few times in green, yellow, or red when a power cable is plugged in or unplugged to give an approximate reading. The Glowbar on Lenovo's optional AI Mouse is a separate RGB strip that users can color but that does not sync with the lid lights. The Verge said the light strips invite more experimentation and hoped Google would do more with them, starting with a constant charge indicator that fills up the strip.

Android apps remain a mixed bag even with Google's new desktop ratings, The Verge reported. The Play Store now classifies apps in five categories: Made for desktop, Optimized for desktop, Compatible with desktop, Better on the website, and Built for mobile. The report said it had not found many Made for desktop apps outside core Google apps and a few examples such as CapCut Pad and BandLab. The Optimized for desktop and Compatible with desktop labels seem loose: Apple Music is optimized but does not respond to right-clicks, requiring a click-and-hold to bring up a context menu, while Firefox is compatible yet does not respond to keyboard shortcuts for creating, deleting, or switching tabs.