Googlebooks are Google’s latest attempt to carve out a piece of the premium laptop market, and tight integration with Android phones is a key part of that effort. Now that Googlebooks are available, we’re learning of some frustrating limitations of that plan. For now, Googlebooks will only play nicely with your phone if you have a Pixel.

When Google announced the launch window for Googlebooks, it said the laptops were “engineered to work with your Android phone right out of the box.” But as with many things Google, the truth is more convoluted. We have since learned that you need Android 17 for any of the nifty integrations to work. With a compatible Android 17 phone, you can seamlessly stream apps to your laptop, access files on your phone, mirror notifications, and continue where you left off in certain apps when switching from phone to laptop.

You might think that the latest Samsung phones, which shipped with Android 17, would be ready for this experience. You’d be wrong, though. Some early Googlebook adopters have complained that phones like the Z Fold 8 won’t work with the laptops. While the devices appear to see each other, the phone doesn’t stay connected. Google representatives have since confirmed that these “Better Together” features are not currently supported on even the latest Samsung phones. An update that brings support to Samsung phones will roll out in “the coming weeks.”

Even when that update arrives, only Samsung phones with Android 17 will work. If you have an older or cheaper phone, you may not get the necessary OS update until later. And Samsung is actually better about update support than most device makers. Motorola released its 2026 phones with Android 16, and they’re still waiting on a final update to version 17. OnePlus, which has recently scaled back its operations in several markets, is also still testing Android 17. Xiaomi has rolled out Android 17 to some high-end devices, but Googlebooks aren’t available in most of its core markets.

This leaves Pixel phones as the only option if you want proper mobile integration with your new Google laptop today. The Googlebook platform probably appeals more to people who already use the company’s bespoke Android phones, but Samsung is by far the largest Android OEM. Launching Googlebooks without Samsung support, and not being clear about that in any public statements, is not a great start for Google’s refreshed laptop effort.

The core issue is that Googlebooks rely on features that are exclusive to Android 17. This used to be a common issue with Android, as phones from various manufacturers often lag behind on major OS updates. However, Google has worked to move more features into Google Play Services and create a modular system layer to accelerate updates. The result is that you don’t usually have to care what build of Android your phone runs anymore—there are very few features exclusive to new versions today, but Googlebook support is apparently one of them.