![\"Qwenbook](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/qwenbook-laptop-2.jpg\")
Everything\u2019s a chatbot now. \u00a9 Kyle barr \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n
It gets more ludicrous from there. The QwenBook runs several on-device models as well as larger models like Qwen3.8-Max<\/a>\u2014Alibaba\u2019s massive 2.4 trillion parameter model\u2014through the cloud. Users are expected to make use of this chatbot interface to not only run the QwenBook but also to bring up apps from across the spectrum of operating systems, including a Windows, Android, or Linux environment. You can even run multiple apps from different operating systems at the same time.<\/p>\n Those demonstrating the Alibaba laptop couldn\u2019t answer how the AI was accessing each separate OS environment, but it doesn\u2019t seem like the QwenBook is running any simultaneous emulation. Instead, it seems like AI is literally handling everything on the backend and is simply using the 2-in-1 laptop to display Qwen\u2019s output. Alibaba calls this \u201cOS as a harness,\u201d though even after using it, Alibaba couldn\u2019t give me an idea how much direct control users have over each of these various Windows, Android, or Linux environments.<\/p>\n QwenBook is a low-powered PC in its own right, and you still have access to a native Linux terminal and a few other native calendar and camera apps. Compare that to Googlebooks<\/a>, Google\u2019s own attempt to combine Android and ChromeOS inside its own customized Linux environment. Those lightweight laptops<\/a> can also get a Linux terminal going, though only as a virtual machine. They can\u2019t run any Linux apps, either.<\/p>\n It\u2019s especially apparent what\u2019s going on when you learn what\u2019s powering this device. Alibaba went with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5<\/a> chip, last year\u2019s flagship Android chip. That makes the QwenBook more akin to a MacBook Neo<\/a>, which is powered by Apple\u2019s older-gen A18 Pro mobile chip. Compared to Apple, which touted its chip\u2019s performance even in a device many times the size of its iPhones, the Qualcomm chip isn\u2019t actually doing all that much for Alibaba\u2019s device. For instance, the newest Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6<\/a> is supposed to be capable of running midrange AI coding models directly on-device.<\/p>\n This device is the epitome of PC fans\u2019 fears<\/a> of a future where they don\u2019t own their computing power. Alibaba added a special AI key on the keyboard, which is supposed to call up these chatbot interfaces. However, it\u2019s better to think of it as another oddball device you probably won\u2019t see in the U.S. in any shape and form. For last year\u2019s entertainment, Qualcomm trotted out a Humain laptop<\/a>, a PC running Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon X2 Elite<\/a> chip whose main claim to fame was using a specialized Windows OS wrapper and a special \u201cHumain\u201d key to bring up an agentic chatbot interface. We\u2019ve heard nothing about that laptop since then.<\/p>\n There\u2019s more to the QwenBook that Alibaba didn\u2019t actually demonstrate, like its supposed ability to vibe code new apps into the OS for your own use. The agentic tasks are also supposed to run independently, even with the laptop closed. There\u2019s a small screen on the back to give users an indication if it\u2019s performing any of your supposed tasks. You can also use a phone app to tell the PC to start running some of these tasks remotely.<\/p>\n The QwenBook does keep files local and lets you run a few native apps, though it\u2019s a wholly AI-centric laptop. And at the point that you\u2019re using cloud-based AI for everything, why even have a laptop at all?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tech companies keep trying to \u201creinvent\u201d the PC with the help of AI, and it only has amounted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":902968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[256,45793,64,63,36041,47297,105],"class_list":["post-902967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ai","tag-alibaba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-laptops","tag-qualcomm","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Alibaba](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Alibaba-QwenBook-2.jpg\")
The back of the tablet also includes a small display to let you know if it\u2019s working on something, even with the convertible laptop closed. \u00a9 Kyle Barr \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n![\"Alibaba](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Alibaba-QwenBook-5.jpg\")
Alibaba wants you to use its latest high-end Qwen3.8-Max model to operate all these separate OS environments. \u00a9 Kyle Barr \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n