Summary
- Some complex Android apps perform poorly on Intel x86 Googlebooks.
- Google uses ARM-to-x86 translation, causing lower performance and battery life.
- Most apps run fine; Google, Intel, Qualcomm, and devs are optimizing compatibility.
Just ahead of the Googlebook laptop platform’s big launch, Google has confirmed that some more “complex” Android apps will run poorly on Intel X86 Googlebooks. While this isn’t exactly surprising, it’s still pretty disappointing, especially considering Googlebook OS is supposed to be designed to work well with Android apps and Android smartphones.
“The vast majority of Android apps run smoothly across both Intel and Qualcomm Googlebooks right out of the box,” said Google in an interview with Android Authority.
“Because many Android apps were originally designed for Arm chips, a small handful of complex apps or games need some developer tuning to run their best on Intel-based platforms. We’re working hand-in-hand with app developers, Intel, and Qualcomm to continuously optimize performance and expand compatibility across the entire portfolio.”
While Google says it has curated a list of optimized apps for Googlebooks in the Play Store, the company has also repeatedly stated that any Android app will run on Googlebook laptops. However, the tech giant still hasn’t said what apps will have compatibility issues on x86 Googlebook laptops.
Intel Googlebook laptops use a translation layer to run Android apps
Launch Googlebooks feature both Intel’s Core Ultra 5/7 Series 3 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite
Android apps run on ARM architecture, so Intel Googlebook laptops utilize a translation layer to run Android apps. In the past, Google has said running apps that use ARM code on an x86-based Chromebook results in lower performance and battery life, and it looks like Googlebooks will suffer from the same issue.
While more Intel-powered Googlebook laptops are definitely on the way, only three feature the Core Ultra 5 Series 3 (Panther Lake) chip right now: one from Acer, Asus, and Lenovo (the Acer Googlebook 14 has an Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 3 variant, too). Additionally, two ARM-based Googlebook models also run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip: HP’s Googlebook 14 and HP’s Dell XPS Googlebook.
It’ll be interesting to see how overall Googlebook performance compares across ARM and x86 Googlebook hardware variants when reviews start dropping.
