Google Chromecast Third Generation Review

This is the Google Chromecast third generation and I can confidently say that this device here is a gamechanger.

I would go as far as to say that the Google Chromecast is really kind of the future of how we use TV’s, and really the future of cable.

Open Box

What you get right out of the box is a circular Chromecast with an HDMI port that you plug right into the TV and there’s going to be a power cable that you plug the Chromecast into the wall. Download the Google Home app, set everything up and you’re good to go.

Initially, my first impression with this thing was that I felt like I had cable again for years I haven’t had any type of cable television because I just know cables are obsolete in 2019. The Chromecast kind of feel like I went back in time but in a good way.

Casually play YouTube videos off my phone onto the big screen TV or I could just say to my Google Home to play video on Netflix and I would start playing that movie on Netflix it really brought me back from kind of that era of having the TV run cable television in the background except instead of cable television there is the Chromecast.

So today we’re going to be reviewing the Chromecast because Amazon and Google finally decided to play nice together they’re sharing their sandbox toys, so we’re getting an Amazon prime app on the Chromecast so now the question is does it make the Chromecast any more worth it now than it was before let’s find out:

How to set up the device?

To set up your Chromecast it’s super easy you just plug it into the HDMI port on the back of your TV connected to Wi-Fi through your phone computer or tablet and you are off to the races.

It’s super simple, the thing that’s going to throw a lot of people off is the fact that phone or tablet or computer that you’re using is your remote, there is no remote control with the Chromecast. so my remote is my smartphone, for some people this is going to be unpleasant, for others it will be very freeing not to have that extra device, so to use it you just open up something like Netflix and then there will be a little Chromecast symbol up in the top corner. That let’s you cast the program over to the OR the app or whatever it is you’re watching over to the Chromecast and you can watch it on your TV.

The next logical question is what role your phone is actually playing in all this or your tablet or your computer. Don’t worry your phone is basically just a remote so you can still browse Facebook hit up Instagram or whatever it is that you do with your phone you’re still going to be able to do that while the Chromecast is doing the heavy lifting, after you’ve sent the info over to it from your remote. The best thing for me is the screen mirroring it’s incredibly easy.

Chromecast vs. Roku Streaming Devices

All you have to do is open up the “Google Home app” which you can get on Android or iPhone and then hit two buttons, then once a mirror device it sends it on my phone over to the Chromecast. it’s incredibly simple, the content side of this, how do you measure the content because there’s a lot of apps available on the Chromecast, but compared to Roku who is the best one they’ve got, most streaming apps available and compared to that, Chromecast has maybe somewhat fewer but still a ton.  What I did to determine whether the Chromecast is any good versus the Roku is I took the top ten Roku channels that’s Abby gave us in a previous video, I checked to see which ones were available on Chromecast now.

Obviously, there is no Roku channel but there’s also no support for news on which is an app that lets you watch local news feeds from around the country.

Content

I think it’s pretty cool but frankly 8 out of the 10, Top-10 apps not bad now it used to be that the big omission here was Amazon prime. if you’re watching something on the Amazon prime app on your computer or your phone or your tablet, you didn’t have that little Chromecast icon that let you send it over. There was no support, that’s no longer going to be the case. No, we still have to wait for a few months for that to come out but there will be Amazon prime on your Google Chrome cast which is great.

User Interface

Now you do still need to deal with an interface that’s going to favor the Google play ecosystem so be aware of that going in, if you search for something it’s going to try to shove you toward buying or renting movies, TV shows, music through “Google Play” so be aware of that but one thing.

Chromecast App

I was surprised about how well the app works on iPhones the “Google Home” have all this chromecasting that you can do on an Android phone works just as well on an iPhone. I found no difference between the two which is good news for all of us, As for the verdict on whether I recommend Chromecast let’s compare it to the other devices, Essentially what it comes down to is if you like casual gaming integrated into your device, The “Amazon fire” an “Apple TV” are better than the Chromecast if you are a more serious gamer the NVIDIA shield is going to be better than the Chromecast.

If you want the most streaming apps possible search experience Roku is going to be better than the Chromecast, but if you want a cheap device that is incredibly simple to operate, it’s going to be tough to beat the Chromecast so it’s going to be a little bit weird to let go of the remote control but I eventually did like the phone as remote experience and I love the easy screen mirroring that I got to do when I needed to do that.

Verdict

So the Chromecast still hasn’t dethroned in the Roku, as my favorite streaming device nothing has frankly but it has found its niche even in my home, where I use a bunch of Roku devices, I do have a Chromecast and I use it fairly frequently so if Chromecast is your favorite and you feel like.

Let me know your thoughts below 🙂