Google is removing Find Hub from Googlebook. Its release notes for Google Play services version 26.40, dated October 12, cover the change. The update disables installation of the Find Hub app on Googlebook devices and removes Find Hub capabilities from them.
The note gives no reason. Googlebook went on sale in the US on October 4, starting at $899. For the full lineup, see our Googlebook launch coverage.
What Google’s Find Hub release note says
The change appears in the Device Connectivity section of Google’s System Services release notes, under the PC category that covers Googlebook. Here is the full line:
This update disables installation of the Find Hub app and removes Find Hub capabilities on Aluminium (Googlebook) devices.
— Google, System Services release notes, Google Play services v26.40 (October 12, 2026)
Aluminium is Google’s codename for the platform. Google’s consumer marketing calls it Googlebook OS.
What the note leaves out
That one sentence is all Google has published on the change in these notes. It doesn’t say:
- whether laptops already running Find Hub lose it, or only new installs are blocked
- when the change takes effect
- why Google is making it
- which Googlebook models are affected
- what, if anything, replaces Find Hub on these laptops
The note also doesn’t spell out what owners lose in practice. A Googlebook might no longer locate your phone and tags, or it might no longer be locatable itself. The wording supports neither reading specifically.
Google did disclose the change in public release notes. Still, owners of a laptop that costs at least $899 are losing a device-finding service with no stated reason and no named replacement. They deserve a clearer explanation than one line in a changelog.
This is a different thing from Find Hub’s option to remove old headphones from your device list, which only tidies up entries. On phones, Find Hub is still gaining features, including NFC tap support for tags earlier this month.
Also in this update: Wallet receipts and a message center
The same Play services release adds two Google Wallet features for phones. You can now scan receipts to add them to Wallet. The update also adds an in-app message center to Google Wallet. The notes don’t limit either feature to a specific region.
Play Store version 53.6 arrived the same day. It changes Ask Play to summarize what real users say in their reviews and to cite those reviews directly.
Sources: Google System Services release notes, Google
