Galaxy S9 Tips: First 9 things to do with your new S9 or S9+

If you’re one of the many people picking up a new Galaxy S9 or S9+ in recent days, then you might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff this phone can do. If you can imagine a phone doing it, chances are it’s a feature on the latest Samsung flagships. So where do you start? Where are the crucial dials and levers you need to pull to get the most out of your new S8?

Well, we’re here to help — we’ve wrapped up the first 9 things you should do as you get started with your shiny new Galaxy. There are some hidden features and settings, as well as some not-so-hidden functionality that you’ll definitely want to avail yourself of as you set up your new phone. Check out our video above, and remember to subscribe to Android Central on YouTube so you don’t miss the rest of our GS9 coverage.

• Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ video review
• Android Central on YouTube
• Samsung Galaxy S9 review
• Samsung Galaxy S9: Everything you need to know
• MrMobile reviews the Galaxy S9+

OnePlus 5T: News, Specs, Problems, and next-gen rumors!

This is everything you need to know about the OnePlus 5T!

OnePlus has settled into a six-month cycle for its phones: in the summer, its flagship gets a new design language and number, while in the winter that same phone gets tweaked and the letter “T” added to stand out from its predecessor. OnePlus continued this tradition in late 2017 with the OnePlus 5T replacing the OnePlus 5. This is everything you need to know about the OnePlus 5T!

Check out our reviews

We’ve had our hands on the OnePlus 5T since its unveiling, and we’ve spilled plenty of digital ink to cover it. Check out our video review above, and read our written reviews linked below:

OnePlus 5T review: Come for the value, not the excitement

OnePlus 5T India review: Hitting all the right notes

Flagship specs for less

OnePlus’s mantra has always been offering flagship-level internals coupled with minimalist software, all for significantly less than similarly-specced devices. The OnePlus 5T has all the right stuff you’d expect for late 2017: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, a 6-inch, 18:9 screen, and a dual-camera. Check out the full spec sheet below!

More: OnePlus 5T: Should you pay extra for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage?

About those cameras…

LG has used a secondary lens for wide-angle shots, Huawei uses its second lens for black-and-white shots, while OnePlus is using the second lens in the 5T to better capture low-light shots. Really low light. Under 10 lux, which is is where most phone cameras start to struggle. The user doesn’t need to do anything to change which lens is in use; the camera software will automatically pick based on the ambient light.

Unfortunately, low-light photos from the 5T aren’t particularly good. Andrew noted his photos had a good bit of grain and strange artifacts from the camera software trying to smooth things out. In fact, the main camera took better low-light shots than the secondary lens. There’s no OIS in either lens, which would have gone a long way towards making those low-light shots better. The OnePlus 5T takes great shots when there’s ample light, but don’t count on it for your concert photos.

More: OnePlus 5T gets numerous camera improvements and December security patch

You can unlock it with your face

Android phones have been able to unlock with the user’s face since the Ice Cream Sandwich era, but the feature was never particularly consistent or secure. OnePlus has solved the first problem with the 5T, with a face unlock system that is ridiculously fast. There aren’t special camera sensors like on the Galaxy Note 8 or the iPhone X, and the face unlock on the 5T isn’t as secure as it is on those phones. But it can’t be fooled with a photograph, which should be secure enough for most users. Even better: OnePlus has started rolling this feature out to its older devices, back to the OnePlus 3.

More: OnePlus 5 now has Face Unlock with OxygenOS Open Beta 3

There’s a Star Wars edition

The Force is strong with OnePlus fans, at least in India. The company released a special edition of the 5T in India for ₹38,999 ($600), and it looks gorgeous. Rather than the matte black used on most 5T’s, the Star Wars edition has an all-white color scheme with a sandstone finish. Accenting the white paint job are the Star Wars and OnePlus logos, Alert Slider, power button, and volume rocker all in red.

More: OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition launches in India for ₹38,999 ($600)

There’s also a Sandstone White version

For those of you outside India, don’t fret: OnePlus now makes mostly the same device, just without the Star Wars branding. You get the same sandstone texture, the same pure white color, and the same red accents. Be careful with it though: Alex found the device got dirty after only a few days. The phone regularly picked up black and blue coloring from being in his jeans pocket. While it’s not difficult to clean for now, be wary of the long-term durability of this coating. The Sandstone White OnePlus 5T is available for the same $499 that the black version is.

More: The OnePlus 5T in Sandstone White is gorgeous, and probably won’t stay that way for long

Oreo is here

One oddity (or maybe not) with the OnePlus 5T is that it launched with Android 7.1.1 Nougat, rather than the more recent Android 8.0 Oreo. That changed in early 2018 though: after some trialing in its Open Beta program, OnePlus has released Oreo to the stable channel of its software. Users can expect staple Oreo features such as Notification Channels, picture-in-picture support and better support for autofill applications. Additionally, OnePlus has tweaked its quick settings design, added features to the built-in gallery, launcher and other applications, and included the January 2018 security patch.

More: OnePlus 5T gets first public Oreo update with Oxygen OS 5.0.2

Compared to other devices

The OnePlus 5T’s main selling point is its lower price for mostly the same experience compared to the big names in the Android world, and it holds up favorably. Against the Pixel 2, you get a larger screen and battery size, similar light software experience with some genuinely useful additions to vanilla Android, and (most importantly) a headphone jack. Things look even more favorable when comparing the 5T against the Pixel 2 XL, which has the same screen size and dimensions but costs $350 more. Where the 5T is lacking is water resistance — there isn’t any — and the camera. Again, the 5T has a good camera, but the Pixel 2 crushes it in low-light photography. If those are important to you, it may be worth the extra money for Google’s flagship.

The 5T is also a great phone for Windows 10 Mobile converts. The lighter software will be easier to adjust to than heavier versions of Android that come from Samsung and LG, OnePlus’s features don’t get in your way if you live in Microsoft’s ecosystem, and the lower price is also welcome.

More: Should you get the Pixel 2 or OnePlus 5T?

More: Why the OnePlus 5T is the Android for Windows phone converts

Pixel 2 XL vs. OnePlus 5T — Which is the better buy?

Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs. OnePlus 5T: Here’s what the extra $300 gets you

Check out our forums!

Want to know more about the OnePlus 5T? Our forums are full of awesome users who can answer your every question.

More: OnePlus 5 & 5T forums

This post was updated in March 2018 with information regarding the Oreo release for the OnePlus 5T.

OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5

• OnePlus 5T review: Come for the value, not the excitement
• OnePlus 5T specs
• Should you upgrade from the OnePlus 3T?
• OnePlus 5T vs. Galaxy S8: Beast mode
• All of the latest OnePlus 5T news
• Join the discussion in the forums

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Qualcomm wants to make ‘XR’ a thing with its future-forward developer kit

Whatever we call it, Qualcomm wants to make sure its name is on the box.

As the lines between virtual reality and augmented reality blur, thanks to things like phones capable of doing both and apps starting to live in both spaces, it has been suggested in multiple places the name of these concepts be blurred together into Cross Reality or “XR” to address the spectrum. It’s an idea Qualcomm seems to be a big fan of as it announces the creation of a new Snapdragon 845-based developer kit to help build the future of these devices.

I spent a few minutes with this new reference design, and it paints a fairly clear picture of what Qualcomm thinks the next year or two of these experiences will look like.

Sharper displays, faster processing

This year’s developer kit is a standalone VR headset powered by the Snapdragon 845 processor, which Qualcomm designed to be generally more capable and less power-hungry than previous models. In VR environments, this extended capability means Qualcomm can focus on improving on the graphics headed to displays as well as the way the outside world is tracked through the headset.

In this new VRDK, Qualcomm is using a form of Foveated Rendering as well as Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) tech to make the experience more immersive. The SLAM tech enables the headset to map a 20ft square room with no problem and allow the user to walk around as though the headset was externally tracked, while the new rendering method will make the center of the lens have the sharpest graphics while the rest of the lens area blurs a little.

Qualcomm has paired the Snapdragon 845 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage, as well as Tobii eye tracking sensors and a USB-C port for charging. The headset itself is Six Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) so the tracking is similar to a Daydream Standalone headset or a Vive Focus. Like those headsets, the controller that comes with the developer kit is only Three Degrees of Freedom (3DoF) so it’s limited to rotation right in front of you instead of naturally moving like a Vive or PlayStation VR controller. Qualcomm says it is willing to work with partners to add 6DoF controller support, but that feature is not the immediate focus of this release. The Ximmerse controller that comes with the kit looks and feels very similar to the Samsung Gear VR or Oculus Go controller, with its trigger on the bottom and trackpad-style button up top.

The big focus for this headset is enhancement of current experiences instead of bolting on a ton of new features. Qualcomm is working towards sub-millimeter accuracy with its inside-out tracking thanks to the SLAM enhancements to the outer cameras and making sure there’s room for developers to really push the envelope on things like eye tracking. The Tobii partnership with Qualcomm allows for native eye tracking in the headset, making it possible for you to glance at an option to select it or have your eyes move naturally in a social VR environment.

Unity through Viveport

There’s a software component to this Qualcomm VRDK, but it comes from the creators of the Vive Focus experience. Qualcomm has partnered with HTC to allow its partners to use the Vive Wave SDK on headsets made by third-parties, and with that comes big opportunities for both companies. In China right now, Qualcomm is working with many different organizations through its HMD Accelerator Program to help create many different standalone VR headsets. Instead of offering a wholly unique software experience in each headset, Qualcomm and HTC are encouraging the use of Viveport in these headsets as the store. This gives developers a single store to build games for, and gives manufacturers the ability to say the headset comes with many games at launch.

In a market where Google and Oculus have had very little success, Viveport has flourished and will continue to do so with this partnership. It means there are going to be a lot of potentially very good VR headsets that won’t come to the US anytime soon, but there’s a lot of room for growth in this part of the world where VR headsets have continued to grow rapidly in popularity.

Gazing into the future

With the HTC Vive Focus, Oculus Go, and Lenovo Mirage Solo on the way this year, Qualcomm was already a dominant force in standalone VR headsets. This new developer kit and plan to dominate in China confirms the push forward into the next year with little competition.

As standalone headsets continue to grow in popularity around the world, Qualcomm has cemented itself as the default name to look for the right hardware to build from. And, for consumers, that means there’s a very good chance all of your standalone headset options in the foreseeable future are going to be powered by Qualcomm.

How often do you charge your Galaxy S9/S9+?

Be prepared for frequent top-ups.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are solid upgrades over the S8 series in just about every way, but one area that didn’t see any sort of improvement is battery capacity. Just like the Galaxy S8 and S8+ before them, the S9 and S9+ have 3,000 mAh and 3,500 mAh batteries, respectively.

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 processor is more power efficient than the 835 from last year, but even so, the Galaxy S9 series isn’t something you should buy into if you’re looking for the best battery life possible.

Some of our forum users recently got to talking about how often they’re charging their Galaxy S9s, and this is what they had to say.

MooMooPrincess
03-19-2018 09:24 PM

“

I charge 2x a day on my s9+, it just doesn’t last long.

Reply

vwite
03-20-2018 09:56 AM

“

I charge overnight and once a day, I use around 125% a day.

With the note 8 it was around 160% so I can charge a little less with the s9+ but still won’t last a day

Reply

Abbers727
03-20-2018 11:46 PM

“

I’ve been charging mine about once a day. But I’ve only charged it to 100% once since I got it on Friday evening.

Reply

RockyMin
03-20-2018 06:27 AM

“

I just put mine in the wireless charger when I get home from work. And it usually stays there until the next morning when I leave again. It’s usually at about 80-85% when I get home from work and put it on the charger.

Reply

With that said, we’d now like for you to chime in – If you’ve got a Galaxy S9/S9+, how often do you find yourself charging the phone?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs. Galaxy S7 edge: Should you upgrade?

It’s a tougher question than it seems.

The Galaxy S8 changed a lot about Samsung’s design language, but looking back on it, it wasn’t as fundamental a change over the Galaxy S7 as it initially appeared to be. The Galaxy S7 series — and especially its curved edge variant — was the culmination of many years of maturation on Samsung’s design, engineering, and software teams, and proved to be among the best smartphones released in 2016.

Now that the GS9 is out, it’s worth deciding whether the Galaxy S7 — specifically, the Galaxy S7 edge — is worth swapping out for this year’s model. We’re going to be comparing apples to apples as much as possible in this piece, so we’re going to focus on the larger GS9+, but many of the arguments apply to both the smaller and larger variants.

What a difference two years makes

The Galaxy S7 edge, while certainly not Samsung’s first foray into curved glass displays, showed Samsung settling into a nice groove of differentiation. By then, after the tech demo that was the Galaxy Note Edge and the quiet success of the Galaxy S6 edge (and later that year, the strange and superfluous Galaxy S6 edge+), Samsung seemed to understand its audience, and applied its focus to blending aesthetics with functionality.

The Galaxy S7 series re-introduced many fan-favorite features that the S6 lost, like waterproofing, expandable storage, and a sufficiently sized battery, while further refining the software experience that alienated far fewer people than in years past.

Specifications

But when you look at the Galaxy S7 edge today it shows its age, largely thanks to the bezels atop and bottom the 16:9 Super AMOLED display and the physical home button that was such a mainstay of Samsung phones until 2017. I still have a fondness for Samsung’s mechanical mastery, especially since it didn’t preclude unlocking the phone as it lay on a table, but it’s difficult to argue that the company made the wrong decision moving the fingerprint sensor to the back in exchange for additional screen real estate. The Galaxy S7 edge also forced users to accept Samsung’s traditional navigation button scheme, which placed the back button to the right of the home, and given their permanent status, could sometimes pose a problem when accidentally tapped in landscape mode.

The Galaxy S7 edge was also the final year of the Micro-USB port. Even though USB-C was around in 2016 when the GS7 series was launched, in retrospect, given the unreliability of the standard at the time, Samsung made the right decision holding onto the reliable-but-ungainly legacy port another year.

The 2016 flagship is also significantly smaller than this year’s equivalent: at 5.5 inches, the usable real estate pales next to the S9+’s 6.2-inch surface, though the difference is entirely vertical; the two phones are practically the same width. Still, the S9+ is a much taller phone, which makes it more difficult to use in one hand, something that I’ve partially solved by using a case (which, unfortunately, increases the phone’s overall volume and weight even further).

And while the S9+ is a bit more monolithic in design, featuring a sparser front and symmetrical body due to its also-curved back, in picking up the 2016 flagship it’s clear the two phones are of the same engineering lineage. In other words, the S7 edge is still a beautiful, functional piece of hardware, even by today’s standards.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Given the two years between them, you’d expect the Galaxy S9+ to trounce the S7 edge in terms of specs, and you’d be right. There are two generations of improvements to system-on-a-chip speed and efficiency, and the Snapdragon 845 handily beats the S7’s Snapdragon 820 in both aspects. The S7 edge features 4GB of RAM to the S9+’s 6GB, and the latter also comes with 64GB of storage standard compared to 32GB, a nice bump in out-of-box usability. Both devices sport fast wireless charging, IP68 water and dust resistance, headphone jacks, and expandable storage, but the S7 edge lacks the facial biometrics (that are of questionable utility) of its younger sibling.

There’s also a decided lack of Bixby anywhere to be seen on the Galaxy S7 edge, which is more of a feature than a bug, in my opinion.

Lest we forget, the S7 edge’s 3600mAh battery is actually larger than the S9+’s 3500mAh cell, though the additional efficiency of the Snapdragon 845/Exynos 9810 means battery life should be better on the newer model. And then there are the stereo speakers on the Galaxy S9+, which are nice-to-haves but certainly not essential.

Galaxy S9+ (left) | Galaxy S7 edge (right)

The main difference between the two phones, however, is in the rear cameras. While the S7 edge introduced Samsung’s 12MP sensor and f/1.7 lens combo that it maintained in the Galaxy S8, the S9+ takes things to another level by introducing a second sensor with a telephoto lens and a brighter f/1.5 lens on the main 12MP sensor. While the brighter lens mainly helps in low light situations, Samsung has learned a thing or two over the years, and I find the S9+ to take better photos in almost every situation, regardless of condition. If you’re serious about mobile photography, the camera improvements alone are worth the upgrade to the Galaxy S9+.

At the same time, you can tell by the shots above that in ideal conditions, both indoors and out, the two phones are largely a wash, with white balance and HDR the only differentiating factors. Not bad for a two-year-old phone.

On the software side, the Galaxy S7 edge is still running Samsung version of Android 7.0 Nougat, which we just left behind on the GS8 and GS9. The differences between the two are minor, but if you want the latest and greatest Android version (for now) you’re going to want a newer device. Samsung has said that it will bring Oreo to the Galaxy S7 series, but we’ll likely be waiting until the summer for it.

Should you upgrade? Probably

The obvious answer is yes, of course you should upgrade to the Galaxy S9+ if you’re still using a Galaxy S7 edge. That is, if you’re looking to upgrade at all.

See, the Galaxy S7 edge is still a heck of a phone. Despite its aging design, there are still reasons to love its front-facing home button and fingerprint combo, and the software and camera experience is nothing to sneeze at. It may lack Bixby (hah!) and a few niceties like face scanning and stereo speakers, but unless you absolutely need to upgrade your phone right now, I’d be tempted to wait until we see what Samsung unveils later this year with the Note 9, or even until 2019 with the next-gen Galaxy S (if it’s called that at all).

The Galaxy S7 edge has a bit of life left in it, and that speaks to Samsung’s achievements in design, manufacturing, software and, of course, camera. If you can’t wait, and don’t want to spend so much on a new phone, the Galaxy S8 gives you most of the newest generation at just over half the cost.

See at Samsung

What do you think? If you’re using a Galaxy S7 edge, are you planning to upgrade to the Galaxy S9+? Let us know in the comments!

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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Should you install an SSD in your PlayStation 4?

Before you buy an SSD for your PlayStation here are some things to consider.

Many of us have been there before. You are getting tired of trying to decide which games to delete from your hard drive in order to make room for something new. You have come to the conclusion that you need to install a new hard drive in your PlayStation 4. However, you aren’t entirely sure whether you should get a solid state drive or a mechanical drive. Have no fear! We are here to give you some insight in order to make an informed decision.

Move your PS4 to a solid state?

In general, an SSD (or solid state drive) is a faster animal. Mechanical drives have moving parts whereas an SSD does not. The easiest way to think of it is that an SSD is like a larger memory stick. In recent years SSD’s have become far more affordable than they have been in the past. That being said, they are still pricier than their mechanical counterparts.

But is an SSD worth buying and installing in your PS4? In general terms, no. Unfortunately, the hardware of the PS4 is not capable of taking advantage of the superior speeds of an SSD. Even on the PlayStation Pro, the SATA interface just does not provide the speed which would make the purchase of an SSD worthwhile. You may see some slightly faster load times on some games, but you are only going to be looking at an improvement measured in one or two seconds. In my opinion, it’s just not worth the premium you would pay for an SSD.

Maybe a hard drive that’s mechanically inclined.

As it stands right now, the best bang for your buck when it comes to expanding the storage space on your PS4, still lies with a mechanical drive. While they still aren’t quite as fast as an SSD on paper, the difference you will see on your PS4 is negligible. The difference you will see is in your pocketbook. Mechanical drives still offer marked savings as compared to solid state. In addition, now that the PS4 offers support of external drives you don’t have to crack your case open in order to expand your storage.

When it comes right down to it the benefits of an SSD on your PS4 just aren’t worth the money. My best suggestion would be to pick up the fastest and most reasonably priced mechanical external drive you can find. You will get all the extra space you desire and you will see a bump in load times as compared to the stock PS4 drive.

Check out our favorite external hard drives for more storage in your console!

Have you expanded the storage on your PS4?

Have you slapped a new drive in your PlayStation 4? I would love to hear about your experiences, both good and bad.

Why are we talking PlayStation 4 on Android Central? Let us explain.

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• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

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Google is reportedly buying Lytro for no more than $40 million

Lytro was valued at $360 million in 2017.

According to a new report from TechCrunch, Lytro is the latest company that Google will acquire. Lytro was initially founded in 2006, and its first product – the Lytro Light Field Camera – received a lot of attention in 2012 thanks to its unique design and ability to change the focus of images after they were captured.

Google’s apparently seeking an “asset sale” with this deal, meaning that Google would obtain Lytro’s 59 different patents that all relate to digital and Light Field photography (the tech that made products like the Light Field Camera and Illum from 2014 so noteworthy).

While one source says that Google will purchase Lytro for $40 million, another claims that the sale could be as low as $25 million. For a company that raised more than $200 million in funding and had a reported value of $360 million once its last round of funding was completed in 2017, that’s incredibly low.

Along with this, TechCrunch also notes –

A third source tells us that not all employees are coming over with the company’s technology: some have already received severance and parted ways with the company, and others have simply left.

Following the release of its Illum camera, Lytro shifted its focus to virtual reality in 2015 with the launch of Lytro Immerge – something the company describes as “the world’s first professional Light Field solution for cinematic VR, providing true presence for live action VR through six degrees of freedom.”

That Light Field technology is the same system found in Lytro’s previous two cameras, and in addition to letting users change the focus on images, it captures light in a way that allows you basically create a 3D scene with data on the distance between objects in the frame. This has the potential for all sorts of tricks, and it allows for much more control over photos compared to more traditional cameras.

Assuming this deal goes through, it’ll be interesting to see how Google integrates Lytro’s tech into its products. Will we see Light Field tech make its way into Daydream VR? What about future Pixel phones? A lot of this is still unknown, but the potential of what could come out of this is exciting nonetheless.

HTC’s Vive Focus VR headset is super cool, but you can’t have one

These U.S. carriers have updated the LG V30 to Android Oreo

While we wait around for LG’s big flagship for 2018, the V30 remains the company’s best and most powerful phone currently on the market. The LG V30 shipped with Android 7.1.2 Nougat, but now it’s being updated to 8.0 Oreo.

Verizon

Multiple LG V30 owners who purchased the phone through Verizon Wireless are getting software updates that upgrade the phone to Oreo. The update weighs in at 1702.3 MB, and it brings all of the Oreo goodies you’ve come to expect.

Along with improved performance, Oreo also adds picture-in-picture, Google’s Autofill feature that makes it easier to enter usernames/passwords, notification dots, and much more.

Sprint

A couple weeks after Verizon started rolling out its Oreo update, Sprint is the next carrier to follow suit. The update is the same size at around 1.7GB, and it has all of the Oreo features you’d expect.

The build number is updated to OPR1.170623.026, and the latest March 2018 security patch is here, too.

LG V30 + V30S ThinQ

• LG V30S hands-on: A 2017 phone with 2018’s buzzwords
• LG V30S specs
• LG V30 review: The no-BS flagship
• Top LG V30 camera features
• Full LG V30 specs
• Join our LG V30 forums

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Updated 3/21/18 – Added Sprint to the list!

Chromecast is still the best hardware product Google has ever made

Google’s best selling product also happens to be a best-in-class product. Costing only $35 means we all can use it, too.

Google has had its hands in a lot of different products over the years. Most of Google’s endeavors have been software-based and some have become wildly popular, like Gmail or Android. Others were a bit more low key — does anyone remember Google Lively? It’s a story shared by many Silicon Valley businesses both large and small.

But Google has also been behind quite a few hardware projects since the company was founded in the late 1990s. We’ve seen corporate search appliances, ARM single-board supercomputers, and driverless cars as well as mobile and wearable products we’re more familiar with come from the minds in Mountain View, but none has been as successful as the lowly Chromecast.

See at Best Buy

We saw our first official look at the Chromecast in 2013. Its roots go back to the ill-fated but beautifully imaginative Nexus Q, which was one of the first ever products to bring the idea of “headless streaming” to the masses. Except it never really went on sale so it didn’t actually bring anything to anyone outside of the abstract idea that your phone can not only act as a remote but be the only interface with a streaming appliance.

Since the Chromecast was released commercially, it’s evolved quite a bit, with the second-generation model bringing a 4K Chromecast Ultra and an audio-only version dubbed Chromecast Audio.

The Chromecast delivers where it matters most to Google with millions of homes using them.

On the business side of things, which happens to be the side which determines whether a product lives or dies, the Chromecast has been a consistent winner. In the four years since its launch, it’s become the best-selling Google product ever, the best selling media streamer ever, and one of those products that almost everyone reading this will have in their homes. No matter how you define a successful product, the Chromecast fits your definition.

I think the Chromecast is the best thing Google has ever produced for the same reasons it’s the most popular product the company has ever sold. That’s because it meets the simple criteria to be the best: cheap and easy.

It’s easy to overdesign and overbuild any gadget. Some products are made better when they’ve been made to be over the top — the iPod Classic comes to mind here — but most of the time adding too much engineering time and too many features to a simple thing will make it too expensive or too complicated. Or both, à la Nexus Q. Google has resisted any temptation to turn the Chromecast into something with buttons and lights and dials which requires a 40-page user manual. That’s important for a device that is only supposed to do one thing and keep it easy to do, and a Chromecast is both easy to setup and use.

Developers take the time to include a Chromecast button because it’s lucrative; we tap that button and stream things to one because it’s easy. This is the tech “circle of life” in a nutshell.

Part of that is because Chromecast is a platform where developers are expected to do all the work. A user should only have to worry about choosing which Chromecast to send a movie or song to and it’s up to the developers and publishers and everyone else behind the scenes to keep the process simple and consistent. And when a product is in millions and millions of homes, it’s worth spending the time to be a part of it. Having Chromecast built into your app means more eyes are on bigger screens to watch it. It’s worth adding Google Cast to any app that entertains us because we’ll use it.

Another reason why we’re using Chromecast is a bit more simple: it’s inexpensive, especially for a tech gadget. At $35, it’s so cheap that it can even become an impulse buy. If you’ve ever noticed Chromecasts neatly boxed in the checkout lanes of big-box stores like Target or Best Buy during holiday shopping, this is why. Buying a Chromecast because you need a simple streaming solution makes sense and putting it in front of a captive audience to remind them all that they can have a simple solution is a great way to sell a product. I know I can’t help but think of where I could use another Chromecast when I see them on display with a few dollars knocked off the price, and I already have a house filled with them.

Over the years Google has had its share of hits and misses and whether you love ’em or hate ’em you probably use one or more of the company’s products daily. If it’s a piece of hardware, it’s probably a Chromecast because it’s still the best hardware product Google has ever made.

Chromecast

• Chromecast vs. Chromecast Ultra: Which should you buy?
• Chromecast and Chromecast Audio review
• Chromecast Ultra vs. Roku
• Join the discussion in our forums

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Chromecast Audio:

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Chromecast Ultra:

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Best Buy

Deal: Get $50 off the Essential Phone and a $25 gift card at Best Buy

Good price for a good phone.

The Essential Phone was difficult to recommend with its initial price of $799, but since the permanent price drop to $499 last year, it’s become a much easier sell. $499 is already a solid deal considering everything the Essential Phone has to offer, but Best Buy’s got a new promotion that makes it even sweeter.

Right now, you can purchase a brand-new Essential Phone at Best Buy for just $449. That’s $50 off, and you can get those savings no matter if you choose the Black Moon or Pure White Color.

However, the fun doesn’t stop there. Should you choose to purchase the phone, you’ll also get a free $25 Best Buy gift card that you can use for future in-store or online purchases.

There’s no word as to how long this deal will be available, so I’d recommend acting sooner rather than later to make sure you don’t miss out.

See at Best Buy

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