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Stadia gets better support for your existing controllers
You can connect to your phone for wired or Bluetooth controllers, or use touchscreen controls
When Stadia launched it was only available on TV via the Chromecast Ultra, and when going that route, you could only play it with the Wi-Fi powered Stadia controller. Google seems to have realized that was a bit limiting, especially since you can use Bluetooth and wired controllers with Stadia on your phone, a Chromebook, or a Windows or MacOS-powered PC. To help spread controller support to more TVs, Google is allowing the Stadia app on your phone to act as a bridge for controls on your TV, including third-party controllers like those for the Xbox and PlayStation.
HBO Max adds 4K support right in time for Wonder Woman 1984 (APK Download)
More UHD titles are coming in 2021
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Last month, HBO announced that Wonder Woman 1984 would debut on its HBO Max streaming service on December 25, the same day it will open in US movie theaters. The film will also be the first title to be available in 4K on the platform. Now, right in time for the movie's launch, HBO is rolling out support for 4K UHD and HDR on select Android devices.
Excessive demand forces Stadia to end Cyberpunk 2077 promo early
In Canada, stock ran out on the first official day of the campaign
Google seems to have massively underestimated the demand for its Cyberpunk 2077 promotion on Stadia. The company has announced that it has had to close its offer of free prerequisite gaming hardware to those who ordered the game about halfway through its intended campaign period.
YouTube Premium subscribers in more countries can now get their free Stadia Premiere Edition bundle
The promo was previously limited to the US and the UK
Google loves to bundle all kinds of perks with its subscriptions, and a free Stadia Premiere Edition worth $100 is the latest generous gift lucky YouTube Premium subscribers can receive in the US and UK. And now, the company has expanded the offer to more countries. A while back, a Google support representative told a Redditor that the promo would be available in Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain starting November 16, 2020, and with that date already passed, the promo is now live in these countries.
Google says au revoir to the Chromecast Ultra as the new Google TV dongle arrives
It went out of stock ultra fast
Google introduced the Chromecast Ultra back in 2016 as a higher-end version of the standard Chromecast. For the launch price of $69, the Ultra offered faster WiFi speeds, 4K streaming support, and an Ethernet port on the power brick. It was good while it lasted, but now that Google has unveiled the new Chromecast with Google TV, it looks like the company is giving the Chromecast Ultra a fast farewell.
Get a Stadia Premiere Edition bundle with a controller and Chromecast Ultra for $90 ($10 off)
Discounts on Stadia hardware are still relatively rare
You technically don't have to buy any hardware to start playing Stadia: you can use a mouse and keyboard on a desktop or laptop, and even touch controls on mobile. But to get the best TV experience, you'll need both a Chromecast Ultra and a first-party Stadia controller. If that's an upgrade you've been considering, now's a good time: the Premiere Edition bundle that includes both is $10 off on the Google Store.
Streaming TV service Philo is adding Chromecast support
But the first-generation Chromecast is excluded
In the streaming age, we've seen plenty of cable competitors pop up, including Philo. The service lets you livestream and record 61 channels for just $20 a month, including AMC, HGTV, and Comedy Central. Philo was only made available on most Android devices last year, and hasn't supported Chromecast at all — but that's about to change.
Google's dongle salaciously exposed in Android TV 11 preview
Yet another look at the upcoming Android TV dongle dubbed Sabrina
Ever since shadowy reports about Sabrina, Google's upcoming TV dongle, surfaced earlier this year, we've been waiting with bated breath to see what Google's new vision for living room entertainment is going to look like. A leaked firmware image gave us some possible specs, and a bunch of new details, including a video of the dongle and its remote, leaked a few weeks ago. Now with the release of the Android 11 preview for Android TV, we're getting yet another glimpse of Sabrina, helping to further clarify our expectations.
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Stadia was largely touted as a cloud gaming service that’s supposed to work across screens, but with a big asterisk. For streaming games on a TV, you need a Chromecast Ultra unit shipped inside the Founder’s or Premiere Edition packages, at least initially, while the existing Ultras were required to wait for an update. It appears that some Redditors got a new firmware that allows pairing Stadia controllers with those left-out dongles.
The Chromecast Ultra has long been prone to over-heating issues, even before it became the launch device for Google's video game streaming service. The complaints about toasty Chromecasts have returned, as some of Stadia's first players are experiencing crashes when playing games from their TV.The overheating issues aren't universal — no one on the Android Police team has experienced overheating during Stadia gameplay — but there are plenty of reports on social media. Since the Chromecast Ultra has no active cooling (e.g. a fan), hot environments can easily affect it.[EMBED_REDDIT]https://www.reddit.com/r/Stadia/comments/dzd6v8/chromecast_ultra_overheating/f86ycoe/[/EMBED_REDDIT][EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/hermitation/status/1197584426831618048[/EMBED_TWITTER][EMBED_REDDIT]https://www.reddit.com/r/Stadia/comments/dzd6v8/chromecast_ultra_overheating/f86u59p/[/EMBED_REDDIT][EMBED_REDDIT]https://www.reddit.com/r/Stadia/comments/dzd6v8/chromecast_ultra_overheating/f86ujyw/[/EMBED_REDDIT]It's not immediately clear if the Chromecast Ultra is more prone to overheating during Stadia gameplay than regular video streaming. Stadia streaming shouldn't be significantly more taxing on the Ultra's hardware than Netflix or YouTube, unless different video codecs are being used. The constant 60FPS streaming could also be a factor.Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see Raspberry Pi-style coolers become popular among Stadia users. If someone from Corsair or NZXT is reading this, can we get a water-cooling loop for the Chromecast Ultra?
When I set up my smart home infrastructure, I waited until Black Friday discounts to pay a little less for all my intelligent devices. Whether you're starting from scratch or want to add new products to your existing smart home configuration, you'll be able to benefit from exciting markdowns on a wide array of Nest products. These include security cameras, alarms, locks, thermostats, smart speakers, connected displays, and Wi-Fi routers. The markdowns will be available from November 28 until December 4, which will give you plenty of time to shop.
Stadia, Google's hotly-anticipated game streaming service, is only six days away from going live. After formally announcing it back in March, the company has been periodically keeping us up-to-date on its features, requirements, and list of launch-day games, trying to cover all the bases. As revealed inside today's Reddit AMA, however, there is a long list of features that will be missing when Stadia launches on the 19th.
The first-party controller for Google's upcoming Stadia game streaming service isn't like other wireless controllers for PCs and consoles. Instead of connecting via Bluetooth, it matches up directly with Google's Stadia servers over Wi-Fi and sends the signal back to whichever device the game content is being streamed from. Details included in an official informational video has confirmed that the Stadia Controller's wireless capabilities are reserved only for the Chromecast Ultra, at least at first.
So, you've bought into Google Stadia with that $130 Founder's Edition kit, you've got enough internet pumping in and out to blast 4K HDR games without the console, and you're just about to explode with all the titles set to come in the next year. All you're waiting for is the word "go," and so far, we've only been given the word "November." But a couple of clues have recently popped up in the Stadia subreddit in the hopes of letting us mark down a specific day on our calendars.
Hulu is behind the curve on 4K video streaming, but it's finally making an effort today. After launching and removing 4K video from the service last year, Hulu is now offering UHD content again. However, the selection is limited, as is the device support.
Earlier this year, Google brought cloud gaming to the fore with the announcement of Stadia, its streaming platform that would bring 4K HDR visuals at 60 frames per second with very low latency to almost anything with a screen on it. The expectations have been set up, now we have a growing lineup of games to look forward to and a way to get early access to Stadia in November, but only if you're up to pay a pretty penny.
Google wants to sell you a phone. And a speaker. And a thermostat. Maybe a stick for your TV, too. Not convinced? The company is trying to get you to let it convince you to buy its wares with a new product consultation hotline. And if a service rep isn't breathless enough for you, customers in Southern California can even book in-home appointments.
It's Wednesday afternoon! You know what that means: the week is more than half over, and we've got a fresh crop of deals for you. Proceed with caution — there's a lot in impulse buy territory here, from cheap Chromecasts to smart plugs and phone chargers. There are a couple of bigger discounts, too, like $45 off the best portable projector you can buy.
Amazon pulled the Chromecast from its online store in 2015, after it instated a new rule that only streaming devices that supported Prime Video could be sold. Of course, Amazon itself dictates if Prime Video is available for a given platform, so many saw that as a thinly-veiled attempt to boost sales of Fire TV products. Three years after they were pulled, and a year after Amazon said they would re-appear, Chromecasts are finally back on Amazon.com.