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Googlebook Features Require Android 17 Phone

11:02 PM ETConfirmed

Technology Desk

In Short: Google has revealed that its new cross-device features for Googlebooks require an Android 17 phone, according to a Googlebook reviewer’s guide from Android Authority.

Google has revealed that its new cross-device features for Googlebooks require an Android 17 phone, according to a Googlebook reviewer’s guide from Android Authority.

These features include task continuity, shared file and storage access, streaming phone apps on the laptop screen, and synced notifications.

Samsung’s latest foldables, running Android 17-based One UI 9, are among the few devices currently supporting these features.

Google has been emphasizing deep phone integration as a key selling point for Googlebooks, but this requirement means many users may miss out.

Google Pixels typically have the latest Android version, but other OEMs are lagging.

For instance, Samsung is rolling out stable One UI 9 to last year’s flagships, but mid-range and older flagships are still waiting.

POCO F9 series phones are still running Android 16, highlighting the ongoing Android version disparity.

Android Authority notes that relatively few Android phones currently have Android 17.

Samsung’s position complicates any broad claim that most phones miss out, but owners of Galaxy A-series phones, Xiaomi, or OnePlus devices should check their Android version.

Google is marketing deep phone integration as a core reason to pick a Googlebook over a regular laptop, but the Android 17 requirement limits this promise.

Google announced the Googlebook platform on The Android Show on YouTube, detailing new features coming in Android 17 and Gemini Intelligence.

Googlebook is the platform, and Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo have all signed up to produce Googlebooks coming later this fall.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• Google has revealed that its new cross-device features for Googlebooks require an Android 17 phone, according to a Googlebook reviewer’s guide from Android Authority.
• These features include task continuity, shared file and storage access, streaming phone apps on the laptop screen, and synced notifications.
• Samsung’s latest foldables, running Android 17-based One UI 9, are among the few devices currently supporting these features.
• Google has been emphasizing deep phone integration as a key selling point for Googlebooks, but this requirement means many users may miss out.
• Google Pixels typically have the latest Android version, but other OEMs are lagging.
• For instance, Samsung is rolling out stable One UI 9 to last year’s flagships, but mid-range and older flagships are still waiting.
• POCO F9 series phones are still running Android 16, highlighting the ongoing Android version disparity.
• Android Authority notes that relatively few Android phones currently have Android 17.
• Samsung’s position complicates any broad claim that most phones miss out, but owners of Galaxy A-series phones, Xiaomi, or OnePlus devices should check their Android version.
• Google is marketing deep phone integration as a core reason to pick a Googlebook over a regular laptop, but the Android 17 requirement limits this promise.
• Google announced the Googlebook platform on The Android Show on YouTube, detailing new features coming in Android 17 and Gemini Intelligence.
• Googlebook is the platform, and Dell, Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo have all signed up to produce Googlebooks coming later this fall.

What's still developing

• Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.
• If it is not, you are buying a laptop and waiting on your phone maker for the rest.
• Googlebook’s headline trick is how tightly it pairs with your Android phone.
• Android Authority characterises the install base as relatively few Android phones having Android 17 right now.
• Almost exactly 15 years since Google introduced Chromebooks and ChromeOS —which ushered in a wave of cheap, functional, web-based laptops that would come to dominate the US education market—the company has announced a new laptop platform called Googlebook.
• But the highlight feature Google is teasing at the gate is the cursor, which the company calls the “Magic Pointer” on a Googlebook.
• The manufacturers Google is working with will have a “spectrum of offerings,” and the platform supports both ARM and x86 architectures.
• It's built around artificial intelligence and Android, and while it isn't replacing Chromebooks, it could give the company a more meaningful foothold in the premium computer market.

Sources

• Android Authoritylink
• AndroidPurelink
• WIREDlink
• Warpbeatlink
• zdnet.comlink
• Androidauthoritylink
• Sealink
• Tweaktownlink
• Mashablelink
• TechCrunchlink
• Unitelink
• WarpBeat — background on Googlebook Features Require Android 17 Phone link
• WarpBeat — background on Googlebook Features Require Android 17, Limiting Availability link
• Android — video link