Ambient Mode lets you choose what your Google screens — Android TVs, Chromecasts, and smart displays — show when they're idle; it's basically a slideshow screensaver. Google's started taking the opportunity to do a little subtle advertising for its Pixel phones: a new Captured on Pixel photo category is rolling out as an Ambient Mode option.
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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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Last month an update to the built-in Chromecast app allowed some Android TV devices to be added to speaker groups before mysteriously disappearing a few days later. Well, after yet another update to this app, the feature is back once again.
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Most, if not all, Android TV remotes come with a dedicated Google Assistant button. It allows you to speed up a ton of interactions and makes accessing shows and apps not instantly accessible on the homescreen easier. However, most TVs are shared between multiple family members, so it's a bummer that Assistant can't tell who's talking to it, especially since Google's smart speakers and displays are capable of customizing results via Voice Match. That feature might soon make the jump to Google's TV platform.
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Phone screens keep getting bigger, but you know what's bigger still? Your TV. If you want to show content on your phone to a room full of people, what better way than to mirror it on the TV? With a Chromecast, you can mirror your screen in a few taps, but some phones also support other options.
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This story was originally published and last updated .
The streaming service Quibi launched in April after months of buildup and advertising, and while it wasn't exactly dead on arrival, it hasn't caught on with most viewers. The service is currently revamping its slate of shows, while also attempting to address some of its core complaints — like the complete inability to watch content on large screens, which is finally being addressed through Chromecast support.
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Google has been working on an Ambient Mode for Chrome OS for quite a while — like Chromecasts or Nest displays, it's meant to show you a slideshow of artworks or a selection of images from your Google Photos library while your laptop is charging. For a few months, that's all the feature did, but the latest developer build of Chrome OS 85 changes that, as Chrome Unboxed reports. When you activate the corresponding flag in that channel, you'll see a clock and a weather widget in the bottom left corner, just like you would on a Chromecast. It's still work in progress, though.
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This story was originally published and last updated .
Xfinity subscribers have a reason to get excited. Nope, Comcast's still running things — sorry. But Chromecast support for Xfinity streaming content is now rolling out. It's already live on the web, and now it has started rolling out via a beta program update for the Android app as well. Chromecast streaming even works for live TV.
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This story was originally published and last updated .
Yesterday, our friends at XDA Developers snagged some renders and marketing images from a leaked video of Google's now long-anticipated Android TV dongle, which might get hardware codename "Sabrina." They've also confirmed that Sabrina will come with a dedicated remote, as was previously rumored. But better than that, they’ve just published a video that includes the new Android TV redesign in action.
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Earlier this month, an update to the Chromecast built-in app on Android TV finally brought with it speaker grouping, but it was removed soon after. It turns out this update introduced another feature that went unnoticed until 9to5Google spotted it: Chromecast audio streams no longer need to remain in the foreground to keep playing, they now support background playback.
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