Google's official Googlebook demo looks a lot like Mac wearing a Chrome hoodie

The Googlebook arrived earlier this week, with an interface that draws visual inspiration from ChromeOS but uses Android as its foundation. Google has already spoken much about the highlight features of the Googlebook OS, including the Magic Pointer, Rambler for efficient typing, and a Gemini-first approach that lets users customize the software package to their utility. We spent some limited time with the Googlebook — and hope to spend some more when the laptops become more widely available next month. In the meantime, we’re leaning on Google to share more details about the interface.

Journalist-turned-Googler Dieter Bohn recently detailed how Googlebook OS handles app windowing in a video posted to X (as well as LinkedIn). Bohn’s video also touches upon the various gestures, and many of them seem to draw from both macOS and Windows. One of those gestures is using three or four fingers and flicking them upwards to bring up an overview of active apps. You can also hit the square-shaped key (identical to Android’s multitasking navigation button) to bring up this interface. In addition to apps optimized for Android, Googlebook OS also runs web-based interfaces as web apps.

Additionally, you can drag any open window from its title bar and drag it to the side to open it in a multitasking view. You can also drag it to the top to open it in full-screen mode. Both of these gestures are borrowed from macOS.

Googlebook OS also appears to have desktops akin to macOS, where apps can go completely full-screen, hiding the taskbar. This is ideal for games, video players, and other apps where you’d prefer minimal distraction. I say the implementation is more like macOS rather than Windows because the various desktops share the same taskbar, unlike in Windows, which limits icons for active apps to a specific desktop.

Bohn visibly uses trackpad gestures to cycle between the desktops, but we aren’t sure what they might be, since he doesn’t explicitly mention them. It would be a safe bet to say they use three fingers dragged left or right, but we expect to know better once we use the laptops. All Googlebook models, save the Acer 360º convertible, feature trackpads with haptic feedback, adding a flair to these gestures. We’ll be sure to test them out once we get our hands on the units.