Asus Googlebook 14 testing: Googlebook OS has compatibility issues in some games

The Googlebook OS, which seems to be a hybrid between Android and ChromeOS, promises deep Google Gemini AI integration to enhance workflows. However, some rudimentary testing by YouTuber ETA Prime reveals that Googlebook OS is marred by compatibility issues that are preventing some Android games from working properly.

ETA Prime showcases this with the help of the Asus Googlebook 14 laptop. The Asus Googlebook 14 is a brand-new, 14-inch laptop that is powered by the Intel Core Ultra Panther Lake processors. ETA Prime’s sample featured a Core Ultra 5 325 CPU, 32 GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a 3K 120 Hz OLED display. 

So, from the specs alone, you can tell that the Asus Googlebook 14 can be more than a simple productivity machine. For instance, the Googlebook OS supports streaming apps like Netflix, which go perfectly with the 3K OLED display of the Asus Googlebook 14. Android also has a lot of good games that you can sink hours into. Sadly, this is where the Googlebook OS falls behind a little bit.

ETA Prime reports that Googlebook OS has some compatibility issues when it comes to some games. Minecraft and Fortnite, for instance, are not available on the Googlebook OS, while they are fully playable on Android smartphones. What native Android games do work on the Googlebook 14 work well.

Now, since Android supports a lot of modern console emulators, you can use the Asus Googlebook 14 as a secondary gaming device. ETA Prime’s testing of PlayStation Portable games using PPSSPP and Nintendo GameCube games using Dolphin yielded good results.

Playing console games on the Asus Googlebook 14

The Asus Googlebook 14 with the Core Ultra 5 325 can reportedly emulate God of War: Chains of Olympus at 60 FPS with 4x resolution scaling using the PPSSPP PSP emulator. So, PSP games should work great on the Googlebook 14.

The same is true for Nintendo GameCube games. ETA Prime demos Auto Modellista running on the Googlebook 14 at 60 FPS. The game was running on the Dolphin emulator with 4x resolution scaling.

All in all, the new Googlebook laptops are a cool concept as devices focused primarily on simple productivity tasks, with the ability to serve as secondary entertainment devices. The success of these new notebooks will depend heavily on the hardware from OEMs and Google’s software execution. While we are confident about the former, the latter remains to be seen.

Fawad Murtaza - Senior Tech Writer - 1754 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021

I am Fawad, a fellow tech nerd. As a tech junkie, my relationship with technology goes back to my childhood years. Getting my first Intel Pentium 4 PC was the start of journey that would eventually bring me to Notebookcheck. Finally, I have been writing for tech media since 2018. From small no-name projects to industry leaders, I have worked with a number of tech publications.