9to5Google reported on October 10 that Google is adding Samsung phones to the Better Together features of the Googlebook, the laptop line that many newer Chromebooks can move to. The condition is in the same report: the phone has to be on One UI 9.0, and 9to5Google says that version has reached only a small part of Samsung's lineup. So the headline helps a small group today, and the rest of Galaxy owners have to wait for the phone, not the laptop.
What Better Together does
The features listed in the report are app streaming, notification sync and Continue On, for compatible apps. 9to5Google also says the Instant Hotspot works widely, while the others can be inconsistent, slow to activate or missing altogether. That is a description of the state before this change, and the report does not promise that the problems are gone.
What Google says it changed is narrower: a smoother first-time setup with fewer steps, and a fix for a bug where the pairing QR code kept showing after pairing had finished.
What the phone needs
- Android 17. For a Galaxy, that means One UI 9.0. Which Galaxy gets One UI 9, and when is still unanswered for most models, and the newest rollout news is that the S24 line has started in Korea only.
- Google Play services version 26.37 or higher, and Cross-device services version 1.0.1346 or higher. Both arrive through the Play Store and background updates; Google says they reach phones automatically over the next few days.
- The same personal Google Account on the phone and the Googlebook, with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on.
Pixel phones and Android 17 phones from Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, Motorola, Lenovo, Honor, Sharp, Sony and others are listed as supported. The report gives no list of Galaxy models; it says One UI 9.0 is the requirement.
If it still does not connect
The report's own checklist is the useful part. Use a private home Wi-Fi network, because hotel, cafe, office and guest networks often block local connections. Pause any VPN or DNS blocker. On the phone, turn on the Continue sub-toggles for Tasks, Apps, Notifications and Files and media sharing. Then restart both devices. I did not find where those toggles sit in One UI menus, so I will not give a path; look for Continue in the Googlebook or Cross-device settings on the phone.
If the phone is still on One UI 8.5, none of this will help. There is no setting that unlocks it, and no sideload route Google has described.
For the laptop and the phone you already own
Nothing here changes the laptop. It is a software change on the phone side, delivered by two apps. If you own a Googlebook and a Galaxy on One UI 9.0, update the two apps and try the pairing again. If you own a Galaxy that has not been offered One UI 9, the practical answer is that this feature is not for you yet. Check for the phone update; there is no reason to change phones over it.
The longer view of how long these laptops keep updating is in what Google confirmed about Chromebooks and Googlebook. And for the phone side of the wait, One UI 9 on the S25 in the US shows what a staged rollout looks like in practice.
Last updated October 11, 2026