Engadget Pans $999 Dell XPS Googlebook as Googlebook OS Undercuts Premium Hardware
Updated
Updated · Engadget · Nov 2
Engadget Pans $999 Dell XPS Googlebook as Googlebook OS Undercuts Premium Hardware
3 articles · Updated · Engadget · Nov 2
Summary
$999 buys Dell’s polished XPS 13 hardware, but Engadget said Googlebook OS makes the laptop “practically pointless” and not recommendable.
Google’s new Android-ChromeOS hybrid stumbled on core laptop tasks: Slack ran like a cramped phone app, Evernote was missing from the Play Store, and common editing work often required web apps or awkward workarounds.
Dell’s side of the package drew praise — a 2.2-pound chassis, 13.4-inch display, Snapdragon X Elite chip and 16GB of RAM match the similarly priced Windows 11 XPS 13.
Battery life also exposed the platform’s immaturity: the system hit 15 hours 15 minutes in a benchmark, yet one background app drained 50% in an hour during normal use.
Engadget said buyers should choose the $999 Windows XPS 13 instead, arguing Googlebook OS offers weaker software support than even older Chromebooks despite Gemini AI features.