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Best USB-C hubs for Google Chromecast with Google TV in 2024
Adding a USB-C hub to your Chromecast with Google TV can significantly enhance its functionality using extra storage and peripherals
Whether you opt for the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) or the slightly more expensive 4K version, you're getting a straightforward streaming stick with a snappy interface and powerful video capabilities. However, neither includes much in the way of storage or connectivity, so you'll need to supplement your purchase in the form of a USB-C hub and a sufficient wall charger.
Chromecasts are among our favorite streaming devices on the market. They are a convenient way to make any TV smarter and allow you to easily cast your favorite shows and movies on the big screen. The latest Chromecast dongles with Google TV support are even more practical since you can search for content and interact with it using nothing but the Chromecast. However, you might want to cast something from your Android phone on your TV and watch it on a big screen with others, whether it's a web page, photos, or content stored locally on your device.
PS Remote Play now works on your Chromecast with Google TV
Sony's PlayStation-streaming app comes to Android TV
If you’re big into PlayStation, you likely relish the option to play on any display in your home via PS Remote Play. However, it hasn’t always been easy to do so, given the lack of integration between popular streaming devices and the Sony gaming console. Now, a new update will help you cast your games to other devices equipped with Google's operating system for TVs and media dongles.
Following Sonos lawsuit, Google is in hot water for Chromecast tech
A Texas jury ordered the company to pay more than $300 million in damages while Google wants to appeal the decision
Google got into a lengthy legal dispute with Sonos over its smart speakers and their audio casting capabilities, with the audio company winning a $32.5 million trial against the California behemoth. This isn’t the only trouble Google is in for its casting endeavors, though. A Texas jury has decided that the company violated patents with its Chromecast’s video streaming capabilities, and is supposed to pay $338.7 million in damages.
Weekend poll: What Chromecast models are you currently using?
Still rocking that first-gen streamer, or have you upgraded to Google TV?
Just shy of its tenth birthday, Google finally announced the first-gen Chromecast has reached the end of its life this week. One of the first mainstream devices designed to accept streams from your phone, tablet, or PC, this dongle helped cement Google's place in the living room, and built a unique product lineup that still continues to this day.
Google would rather ruin its products than pay Sonos, and that's unacceptable
Cough up the dough or start sending customers refunds, Google
The ongoing lawsuit between Google and Sonos probably isn’t in the forefront of anyone's mind right now, but after recently digging into a change YouTube made for the worse on its Chromecast app, I can’t really stop thinking about it. Did you know that if you have a Pixel phone and need to reset a Chromecast or connect it to a new Wi-Fi network, you’re basically screwed? One of the most popular streaming dongles in the world, noted for its simplicity and ease of use, now offers an inconsistent and degraded experience, adding to the other deficiencies Google itself announced for its Nest and Home speakers when it comes to volume adjustments and groups, taking away features and functionality customers paid for.
Google's next Chromecast needs to be more Shield TV than Roku
Beating the competition, one way or another
Google has a new Chromecast in development, and much to our dismay, it's not going to be the high-end device of our dreams. Rather than focus on a premium Google TV experience, this new model — code-named Boreal — is a low-end model, reducing the resolution to 1080p to target budget-minded shoppers. Unfortunately, it might be a step in the wrong direction.
Chromecast integration is a hard requirement when you're deeply entrenched in Google's ecosystem and surrounded in Assistant-based smart home stuff. It cuts down your options for things like soundbars a little unless you're willing to augment that with extra gadgets, but Google tells us that one big-name brand is making an across-the-board to change that, with more planned. "All Bose speakers and soundbars" will be getting Chromecast functionality built right in.
Browse through all of the movies and shows you watched — or didn't watch — on your Chromecast with Google TV
Year in Search comes to your television
In recent times, it's become something of a trend for online services to offer up a "year in review" to their users when December rolls around. YouTube Rewind used to be the gold standard by which we could all judge yearly roundups, but amidst the chaos — and negative feedback of recent entries — of the last few years, they have since been canceled. That doesn't mean that Google is done reminding us of what we have been — or should've been — listening to or watching. YouTube Music has Recap, and now, Chromecast with Google TV has its own version of the year in review.
Hulu finally gets HDR support on some devices, but not the ones we were hoping for most
Android TV: "Am I a joke to you?"
Listen up, streaming nerds: if you really want to make the best out of your low-cost, cord-cutting entertainment setup, you'll need to pour at least ten grand into an awesome home theater setup. Which won't help at all if your streaming service of choice doesn't actually support all of that eye-melting hi-fi tech. So what took y'all so long, Hulu?
Every so often, a mysterious new device passes through the FCC that piques our attention. Sometimes the listing outright says what we're looking at, even giving us information on unannounced phones. Other times — such as today — the gadget remains an enigma. A new device from Google has made its way through the FCC, but only time will tell what it truly is.
Samsung's free TV Plus service is now available on the web and Chromecast devices
Samsung TV Plus is making a major push to appear on non-Samsung screens
Samsung is one of the only super-giant international tech companies that's pretty much all about hardware, with all of its ancillary business categories supporting its devices. So of course it's the next technology company to ... let me just check my notes here ... launch an ad-supported TV service. Okie dokie. Samsung TV Plus, previously available on the company's smart TVs and phones, is now up for general viewing on the web.
Sony's PlayStation Video app can't cast anymore
Chromecast compatibility was dropped ahead of a general service shutdown in August
Most of the time when an app gets updated, it's either fixing something that went wrong or adding in something new. The latest update to Sony's official PlayStation video app doesn't fall into either of those two categories. The sole change to the app, according to the changelog on the Play Store, is "Chromecast support has been removed." What?
Amazon is kicking everyone's butt in the streaming wars
Fire TV has tripled its market share in the last 6 years and is now tied with Roku
When the Chromecast debuted back in 2013, it was a legitimate revolution: an incredibly cheap, incredibly simple gadget that let you send all the streaming video on your phone straight to your TV. But in the years since, Google has steadily lost ground in the set-top box market in pretty much every metric. The big winner at the moment is, indisputably, Amazon.
For most Android users, Microsoft's cloud storage will always play second fiddle to Google Drive. But those who are heavily invested in Office 365 or the Windows platform in general still want a good cloud storage app, and today the Android version of OneDrive is a little better. The latest update adds compatibility with the Chromecast and other casting devices.
HBO Max first launched nearly a year ago, bringing the majority of Time Warner Media's catalog under one roof with select high-profile shows and movies from other companies. The service is likely seeing a boost in subscribers, thanks to all the movies Warner Bros. is releasing on HBO Max (alongside limited theatrical runs), and now there are some improvements in store for TV watching.
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.
One of the conveniences of using a Chromecast or a Cast-enabled speaker or TV is the ability to control playback from any device in the house (if you want). Starting a song from your phone and stopping it from your tablet, or asking your partner or roommate to do so while you're wrist-deep into a new banana bread recipe, are possible because of the casting notification that surfaces on all devices connected to the same network. That notification is getting a small but awesome quality-of-life improvement now thanks to new track controls.
Here are the first official photos of the Google TV Chromecast and remote
Sabrina steps into the spotlight
It's been a while since Google refreshed its Chromecast lineup, but the time is almost upon us. We've known about Sabrina for months, and details about branding, launch price, and the likely release date have been revealed. Now official product photography of the upcoming TV dongle and remote has leaked, and I like what I see.
Google Meet adds baked-in Chromecast functionality for chatting on the big screen
Now your office meeting can look like a workplace sitcom