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Five years later, the Chromecast still holds its own
There aren't many gadgets that I'm still using five years after I buy them, except for maybe a laptop. Even then, that's getting quite long in the tooth given how quickly upgrades arrive these days. Chromecast and Google Cast are still things that I use multiple times a day, every day. When Google introduced the Chromecast in 2013, the company promised to make any TV with an HDMI port a smart display with the combination of a thumb-drive-like dongle and your home WiFi. That it did, but in the months that followed, Google expanded the tech undergirding its TV accessory well beyond that $35 device.
The best gear for building a home theater in your dorm
To the extent that your shoebox of a dorm will be your home for the next nine months, you should do whatever you can to make it feel cozy and inviting. To that end, we've included some home-theater items in our back-to-school guide, and we've ensured everything is reasonably compact (you can hold off on your first 65-inch set until you have your very own pad). From media streamers to speakers to a handful of small- to medium-sized TVs, you have options if you want to upgrade from watching Netflix off your 13-inch laptop.
Chromecast Ultra review: Better video quality comes at a cost
Google's first Chromecast was an ugly little stick that nonetheless served an important purpose: At $35, it was about the cheapest way to make a plain old TV "smart," letting people get Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and movies from Google Play on their televisions with zero fuss. But things have changed since the first Chromecast arrived in mid 2013. 4K TVs are becoming more and more commonplace while companies like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and, yes, Google are battling to bring video to your living room. Also, if nothing else, just about every TV these days has built-in Netflix and YouTube apps. Into this crowded market comes the Chromecast Ultra, an update to the 2015 version that adds support for 4K high dynamic range (HDR) streaming. The thing is, that extra feature doubles the price: The Chromecast Ultra comes in at $69. It's no longer in impulse-buy territory for most people, so the question is: Does this improved video quality warrant a purchase?
Watch the Made by Google launch event in 15 minutes
Google unveiled its plan for consumer hardware earlier today, showing off Pixel phones, the Google Home hub, Google WiFi router, Chromecast Ultra and Daydream VR headset, plus its Assistant AI ready to tie everything together. We liveblogged every second of the full presentation, but if you're in a hurry you can catch a quick runthrough of all the announcements right here in just 15 minutes, or head straight to our hands-on impressions.
Google's play for the living room starts with Home
Today marked Google's biggest hardware launch yet. Not only did it announce two Pixel phones and a Daydream VR headset -- it also unveiled a slew of products for the living room. We already heard about Google Home, its voice-powered assistant-and-Bluetooth speaker combo at the company's I/O developer conference this year. New today, though, was a mesh networking router and an updated Chromecast. We took a closer look at all three immediately after the event and came away with a dream of a Google-powered home.
UK pricing for Google's Pixel phones, Daydream VR headset and more
A wealth of leaks might've taken some of the sting out of Google's big event today, but there was quite a lot to take in nonetheless. Google spent a lot of time talking up its AI Assistant -- the same one that debuted in its Allo messaging app -- but who are we kidding? New hardware was the highlight tonight, and there's a lot of it, from a pair of Pixel smartphones to a new VR headset, 4K Chromecast and more. And now it's time to lay out how much all that new gear is gonna cost you.
Chromecast Ultra brings 4K and HDR to Google's streaming pucks
With the last-generation Chromecast, Google managed to turn its inexpensive streaming device into something that was fast and genuinely useful. Now, as the rumors foretold, there's a 4K/HDR upgrade: the Chromecast Ultra. It's still a svelte puck like the earlier models, but it has a bit of a stealth bomber aesthetic. And at $69, it's far more expensive than the current $35 Chromecast. Still, it comes in $10 less than Roku's cheapest 4K player, and will be useful for anyone who wants to quickly stream high-res video to their new 4K TV.
Google's 4K Chromecast emerges in an image leak
Those rumors of a 4K-capable Chromecast dongle just got more substantial. Evan Blass (who has a knack for accurate leaks) has posted an image of what he says is the Chromecast Ultra. The device itself isn't remarkable -- surprise, it's a puck with an HDMI cable attached. However, it might just say a lot about Google's plans. To start, its very existence corroborates talk that Google's October 4th event is about much more than new phones. And notice how it replaces the Chrome logo from earlier Chromecast models with Google's increasingly ubiquitous "G?" That lines up with the logo seen on the back of the company's leaked Pixel phones, as well as test versions of Chromecast firmware. Clearly, Google is aiming for more harmonious hardware branding.
Google Home is rumored to cost $130
Google Home, the latest entrant in the voice-activated-assistant race, will cost $130 and include the colorful base options shown off at the company's I/O conference in May, according to Android Police. Home is Google's answer to the Amazon Echo, though the reported price means it's $50 cheaper than Amazon's flagship device. Earlier this year Amazon unveiled the Echo Dot, a smaller version of the assistant, and the second generation of this little gadget costs $50.
