Google reveals how many popular Android apps run (or not) on Intel-based Googlebooks

Googlebooks are finally on store shelves, and you can choose between models with Intel or Snapdragon processors. However, Google recently told us that models with Arm-based Snapdragon processors have better support for Android apps than devices with x86-based Intel chips. Now, the company has shed more light on this difference.

Google previously told us that the “vast majority” of Android apps run without issue on Googlebooks, regardless of chipset. However, it added that a “small handful” of apps need developer tweaks to better support Intel-based laptops. This suggested that some apps might not work well on Intel-powered Googlebooks, if they do run at all.

The search giant has now further clarified Android app compatibility on x86-based Googlebooks in a statement to Android Authority:

There is a key technical distinction regarding Googlebook’s translation architecture. Some coverage has referred to legacy 32-bit ‘x86’ emulation. In reality, Intel-powered Googlebooks utilize a highly advanced binary translation layer that dynamically compiles modern 64-bit Arm (arm64-v8a) code directly into native 64-bit Intel (x86_64) instructions. This ensures that modern, high-performance applications run with native-level speed and responsiveness, completely bypassing the limitations associated with legacy 32-bit translation.

We’re not surprised to hear that Google is using a translation layer rather than emulation to run Arm-based Android apps on Intel-based Googlebooks. The company previously offered the libhoudini translation layer on ChromeOS so x86-powered models could run Android apps. We’ve asked Google whether it’s a version of this translation layer on Intel-powered Googlebooks and will update our article accordingly. Either way, a translation layer is generally more efficient and performant than pure app emulation.

Google also elaborated on the state of Android app support out of the box for Intel-based Googlebooks:

Also, we want to provide clear context on Googlebook’s actual day-one application ecosystem. Right out of the box, we are proud that 96.6% of the top 10k+ most-used applications are available for all in Play and run flawlessly on Intel-powered Googlebooks with the remaining apps being removed from Play primarily due to app incompatibility with large screens for all platforms (eg require gyroscope).

That’s an impressive figure on paper, suggesting that the vast majority of users won’t have issues running their favorite apps on an x86-powered Googlebook. We can understand if some of these apps aren’t supported due to the laptop form factor, but that still leaves over 300 apps that won’t work, though. I’d therefore strongly advise readers to verify that their favorite apps work on Intel-based Googlebooks before buying them.

Nevertheless, this isn’t the only noteworthy tidbit we’ve learned about Googlebooks in recent days. Chrome for Googlebooks doesn’t support multiple user profiles, while Samsung phones don’t fully support the platform just yet.