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| Asus Googlebook 14 |
The Asus Googlebook 14 delivers stunning ExpertBook Ultra hardware in an impossibly light package, but software limitations and a $1,299 price tag raise questions about its value proposition.
Asus has taken an unusual approach with its latest laptop. Rather than building a Googlebook from scratch, the company has borrowed the chassis from its well-regarded ExpertBook Ultra business laptop and paired it with Google's new operating system. The result is a machine that feels genuinely premium in hand—but comes with compromises potential buyers need to understand.
Design That Turns Heads
At just 967 grams (2.13 pounds), the Googlebook 14 practically disappears in a bag. The dark anthracite finish gives it a sophisticated, professional appearance that rivals laptops costing considerably more. The ExpertBook Ultra chassis provides excellent stability despite the extreme lightweight design, though some users may find the lack of heft makes typing feel slightly less substantial than expected.
Connectivity is surprisingly generous for such a thin machine: two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI, and Wi-Fi 7 support. The 1080p webcam with mechanical shutter handles video calls adequately. However, there's no 5G or LTE option—a notable omission for a device positioned as an everyday companion.
The Display: Almost Great
The 14-inch matte OLED touchscreen with 2880 x 1800 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate sounds impressive on paper. The matte coating significantly reduces reflections, making it far more usable outdoors than typical glossy OLED panels.
However, detailed testing reveals concerning issues. The display covers only 71.1% of the sRGB color gamut—unusually low for OLED technology. Combined with elevated black levels and color accuracy that's off out of the box, the panel behaves more like a high-quality IPS display than the OLED users expect. PWM flickering at 720Hz may also cause eye strain for sensitive users. For everyday tasks, it works well. For color-critical work, look elsewhere.
Performance and Battery Life
The review unit featured Intel's Core Ultra 7 355 processor paired with 16GB of soldered LPDDR5x RAM and a 512GB SSD. Asus configures the chip for 45W short bursts but only 18W sustained—meaning the Core Ultra 7 doesn't have much room to outperform the cheaper Core Ultra 5 325 option.
Benchmark scores land in respectable territory for productivity tasks, but gaming is essentially off the table. Beyond integrated graphics limitations, many popular titles simply aren't supported on Googlebook OS.
The 70Wh battery managed 13.3 hours of Wi-Fi browsing at 150 nits—acceptable but below category average. At maximum brightness, expect around 8 hours.
Googlebook OS: The Elephant in the Room
Here's where things get complicated. While Googlebook OS provides access to the Android app ecosystem and a clean interface, limitations fundamentally shape what this laptop can do. Not all Android apps are compatible, extended features with modern Android smartphones weren't functional during testing, and many benchmarks and games remain unavailable.
The platform feels like it's still maturing. Users dependent on specific Windows or macOS applications should look elsewhere.
The Verdict
The Asus Googlebook 14 is beautifully engineered hardware held back by its software platform and pricing. The $1,299 starting price for the Core Ultra 5 configuration makes it a tough sell when more versatile Windows alternatives exist at similar prices.
For those deeply integrated into Google's ecosystem who need an ultra-portable daily driver for basic tasks, it's a compelling option. For everyone else, the limitations are difficult to overlook.
For a more detailed breakdown of this laptop's specifications and performance, check out this comprehensive analysis.
Rating: 86.5/100 — Excellent hardware, limited software appeal.
