Here are the brands making the first Googlebooks, but you’ll notice a big one is missing

Following the announcement of Googlebook, we finally have a clear picture of exactly who is building the hardware. Google has officially confirmed that they are working with Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to launch the first wave of Googlebooks this fall.

According to Google, every device with the Googlebook branding will feature premium craftsmanship and materials, and you will easily be able to spot them by the unique, functional LED Glowbar. And just like they did with Chromebooks, Google will require a strict seal of approval for these devices.

It is particularly exciting to see Dell on that list. During our recent exclusive interview with Google VP John Maletis, he highlighted how big of a deal it is to have Dell back in the consumer hardware space for this launch, noting that the Googlebook platform was the catalyst that finally made sense for their brand to jump back in. But looking closely at that lineup of five major OEMs, you will quickly notice that a very big name is missing: Samsung.

We have been tracking the rumors for a while now that Samsung is preparing a new Galaxy Book that runs Android. When the official Googlebook partners were announced and Samsung wasn’t on the screen, it naturally led to some speculation that Samsung might be officially bypassing the strict Googlebook branding to do their own thing.

So, we asked Maletis directly about this missing logo and whether Google is actively trying to prevent OEMs from just building their own Android desktop shells outside of the Googlebook ecosystem. He was quick to clarify that stopping partners from innovating just isn’t how they operate.

There’s very little that we could or would want to stop… that’s never really been core to Google’s DNA. We want choice and we want platforms that different partners can build whatever they want.

However, he also made a very important distinction regarding the current list of manufacturers: those five brands only represent the launch window.

The logos that you saw at the Android show, that’s for our launch window and those are the partners we’ve been spending a ton of time with, but you should expect more logos over time.

So, while Samsung might be exploring their own path with the Galaxy Book right now, the door is certainly open for them to join the official Googlebook family down the road.

For now, the initial launch lineup is incredibly solid. Having five heavy hitters ready to roll out premium hardware this fall means we are going to have plenty of competitive options to choose from when Googlebooks officially hits the market.