Google announces Play Music family plan, $14.99 per month for up to 6 people
Alongside the brand new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, Google today announced a new pricing tier for Play Music All Access. Instead of paying full price for multiple accounts, family members will now be able to join a single Family Plan that costs $14.99 per month. Up to six family members can join a single Family Plan, allowing them to stream unlimited music anytime, on any device, for a much lower monthly fee.
See also: Google to introduce a new family plan for Play Music, $14.99 per month for 6 accounts
In its current form, a single Play Music All Access subscription costs $9.99 per month, making it quite the expensive service for multiple users. But now with this new pricing tier, even having two users on the same Family Plan will save $5 per month. This is certainly a long overdue feature, and we’re sure many fans of the service will be happy to sign up.
For comparison, Spotify’s family plan costs $29.99 per month for just five users, while Apple Music’s family plan costs the exact same as Google’s plan. This makes Play Music All Access a much more attractive music streaming service when comparing to other platforms.
Google says the new family pricing will roll out later this year. We’ll be sure to let you know when we get our hands on the details!
New Chromecast and Chromecast Audio: new features and design, for the same $35 price
Google is giving the popular Chromecast HDMI dongle a long due facelift.
Announced alongside the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P at Google’s media event in San Francisco, the new Chromecast features a refreshed design in three colors, faster hardware, and improved software features.
The original Chromecast launched in 2013 and became a surprise sales hit, thanks to its low $35 price tag and compatibility with many popular apps. More than 20,000 apps can currently cast content to the device, which has sold in over 20 million units in dozens of countries, making it Google’s most successful hardware product yet.
The new Chromecast keeps the same general recipe that made the first generation popular, with faster internals that include support for the fast WiFi 802.11ac standard, dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz support and three antennas that switch on automatically for the best reception. This should ensure a superior experience with less buffering and faster playback.
The new design of the device is circular and features an integrated HDMI cable.
The Chromecast has been redesigned to offer playback controls as well as a smarter content discovery system and better app discovery.
Another big new feature is Fast Play, which is a way to prefetch apps and content, so when you click play, the content opens up instantly.
New feeds are coming to the Chromecast homescreen, including photos from Facebook and Google Photos.
The new Chromecast will become available in the Google Store from today, at the same price of $35. The device will launch in 17 countries, though we can expect it to hit many other markets in the following months.
Google also introduced Chromecast Audio, a circular dongle that connects to just about any set of speakers allowing them to work with the Cast for Audio protocol. So far, only audio products with built-in support for the protocol worked with Cast for Audio, but Google’s new dongle will make it possible to enable it for every speaker, at a low cost.
Many apps, including Play Music, Pandora, iHeart Radio and Rdio support Cast for Audio, and Spotify is coming very soon. Just like the Chromecast, the Chromecast Audio will be available in 17 countries starting today for $35.
Live from Google’s Nexus event!
Now that Apple had its day in the sun, Google’s ready to take the stage for an event of its very own. And just like how the folks in Cupertino announced a couple of new phones, we’re expecting the Alphabet company to reveal two of its own handsets as well. Leaks suggest we’ll see the Nexus 5X and 6P — the 5X appears to be made by LG and features a 5.2-inch display, while the 6P seems to be a Huawei handset with a larger 5.7-inch screen instead. Both are purported to have fingerprint sensors and will ship with Android Marshmallow, which, whaddya know, has support for fingerprint sensors right out the gate. We’re also expecting a couple of new Chromecast announcements; it looks like a second-gen Chromecast could make an appearance tomorrow along with a brand new Chromecast device for audio (Intriguing!). Check out all those details in our preview and join us right here at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET for our liveblog to see if it all turns out to be true.
[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Google’s next Nexus flagship is the 5.7-inch, Huawei-built 6P
We knew with near-certainty that (one of) the next Nexus flagship phone would be a Huawei-built device called the 6P, and now Google has just made that official at its event in San Francisco this morning. Naturally, the new phone is running the latest version of Android, 6.0 Marshmallow. Surprisingly, the device is a little bit smaller than the Nexus 6 it’s replacing — the Nexus 6P has a 5.7-inch screen running at 1440p resolution. That works out to 518 pixels per inch, an absurdly high ratio that’s becoming commonplace on plenty of flagship devices. Also of note is the device’s high-end construction: Google says that the phone is made of “aeronautical-grade aluminum.”
There’s also a new fingerprint sensor called Nexus Imprint, and Google says it opens up fingerprint recognition to the “entire app ecosystem.” Once trained, the sensor can recognize fingerprints in less than 600 milliseconds, and it learns more about your fingerprint over time to get more accurate. Naturally, this system also works with Android Pay.
Dig deeper and the spec sheet continues to impress. The Nexus 6P features a 12.3-megapixel back camera with an impressive f/2.0 aperture and what should be a pretty solid autofocus system — Google says it uses IR lasers to assist with autofocus, a feature found on devices like LG’s G4. It’s far too soon to say for sure, but we might be looking at the first Nexus phone to have a really great camera on board. The front-facing camera has similarly impressive specs, with an 8-megapixel resolution and an f/2.4 aperture.
The camera also as significantly larger pixels than the original Nexus 6, which allows for significantly better low-light photography either indoors or outside once it gets dark. There’s a new burst mode on board that captures photos at 30 frames per second. The camera can also shoot slow-motion video at 240 frames per second, and it can also shoot 4K video. And if you want to get right into the camera, you can just double click the unlock button. The samples Google showed off certainly are impressive, but we’re going to have to put it through its paces in the real world before making any judgements.
The Nexus 6P is running off of the Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor with 3GB of RAM, another impressive spec that’s seemingly becoming commonplace on a host of Android phones. Google’s offering healthy amounts of storage here too, with the phone available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB configurations. And the phone is Google’s first Nexus device to feature USB Type-C connectivity — not a huge surprise after the new Chromebook Pixel put it front and center, but we’re still excited to see it becoming more commonplace.
As for pricing and availability, Google says the Nexus 6P will be available in Google’s online store as of today for pre-order in the US, UK, Ireland, and Japan. More countries will be coming over the next few weeks. Outside the US, both phones will be sold through local retailers and carriers. The 6P will start at $499 for a 32GB model and will start shipping in October. Naturally, they’re unlocked, available without contract, and should work on all US carriers as well as internationally; there’s also Project Fi support on board. Google’s also throwing in a 90-day free subscription to Google Play Music as well as a $50 Google Play credit with every purchase.
Google’s also trying to alleviate stress over breaking your phone, so there’s a new Nexus Protect program that provides two years of coverage for both mechanical problems and accidental damage. You’ll be able to get a replacement phone as quickly as the next business day, and you’ll be able to file a claim 24 hours a day. Naturally, it’s not free — it’ll cost you $89. Still, this sounds like a huge step forward for Google’s Nexus support.
LG is making another Nexus: meet the Nexus 5X
The rumors are true: LG is back to build Google’s 5.2-inch Nexus 5X. Leaked repeatedly over the last few weeks, the specs aren’t much of a surprise — or outpacing the also just-announced Nexus 6P — but it’s still a powerhouse phone, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 12.3MP rear camera with laser-assisted autofocus, dual flash that’s capable of shooting 4K video. It will ship with the latest version of Android, Marshmallow 6.0 and includes Google’s new Sensor Hub chip inside that keeps notifications and fitness stats up-to-date at all times without drawing a ton of power. It also has the new USB Type-C port for fast charging and syncing, while the fingerprint sensor on the back can instantly and securely provide access to the phone with Nexus Imprint. There’s a 2,700mAh battery inside, and it’s going to be available in both 16GB and 32GB versions with colors including black, white and ice blue. Nexus 5X pricing starts at $379, it will begin shipping in late October and two years of Nexus Protect coverage are available for $69.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Google’s Android Sensor Hub knows how its Nexus is moving
In addition to its new Nexus 5x and 6p handsets, Google also revealed a low power secondary processor during its September 29th event. This added chip resides in both models. It’s called the Android Sensor Hub and acts to monitor the device’s movement, not unlike the coprocessor in the new iPhone 6s. The dedicated processor connects directly to the camera’s sensors to reduce the phone’s overall power consumption. This chip allows the phone to run advanced activity recognition algorithms that, say, notice when you start a run or hop on your — even if you haven’t turned on the screen. This feature also will allow users to subtly check their notifications. With the Sensor Hub, the phone knows when it’s been picked up and will automatically display notifications in a low-power white-on-black text until the screen has been properly activated.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Google Play Music family plan gives six people tunes for $15 a month
Family pricing has been all the rage when it comes to music streaming services. After the likes of Rdio, Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music announced reduced rates for you and your family, Google has a family plan of it’s own for Play Music. Mountain View is offering access to its library of tunes on up to six people for $15 a month. That’s exactly what Apple offers, and it’s a much better deal than Rdio and Spotify which only allow two people to stream for that price. With Play Music, each member of the crew will be able to listen on any device and the app will serve up recommendations that are tailored to each user. Google says it’s still “putting the finishing touches” on the family sharing, and it plans to roll it out later this year.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
Android Marshmallow reaches devices next week
Anxious to know when Android 6.0 Marshmallow will reach your existing devices? Google is more than happy to oblige. Existing Nexus devices will start getting Marshmallow next week, including the 5, 6, 7, 9 and Player. And of course, if you spring for the shiny-new Nexus 5X or 6P, you’ll get Marshmallow right out of the box. There’s no word on third-party device updates just yet, but we’d expect news from some manufacturers in the near future. Be prepared to wait longer than Nexus owners, though — other companies’ customized takes on Android typically require more time in the oven.
Android Marshmallow lets you use your voice to control apps
We’ve been testing Android 6.0 “Marshmallow” for months, but Google has saved some of its more interesting features for today’s big Nexus launch event. Most intriguing is the operating system’s bigger focus on voice interactions: Google Now voice commands work a lot faster than before, and you can now also control apps with your voice. For example, asking an Android Marshmallow to “Play NPR” pops up the NPR One app, which prompts a followup question about what specifically you’d like to hear. Any developer will be able to plug in similar “hands free” voice features in their apps. Both Google and Apple have been racing to add more voice features to iOS and Android, but if developers actually warm up to the new voice commands, Google might once again have the leg up (sorry, Siri). Slideshow-323596
Among other new features, Google has also revamped notifications to drop down from the top of the screen (yes, similar to iOS), and the home screen now scrolls and searches faster. (Other Engadget editors have noticed some of the new home screen features on their current Android Lollipop phones.) The new Doze feature also brings some much-needed battery improvements to Android by placing your phone into a deep “sleep” mode when it’s not in use. Google claims the addition of Doze will give the Nexus 5 30 percent more battery life.
Android Marshmallow will start rolling out to Nexus devices next week. As always, owners of other Android devices will have to wait patiently for their phone manufacturers and carriers to approve the update.
Google’s Chromecast 2.0 is faster and more colorful
Google has just announced its next-gen Chromecast streaming stick, and just like earlier reports said, it’s taken on a smaller circular form and has donned more colorful shells. The company says its antenna system allows it to stream higher-resolution videos significantly faster, with less buffering. It even comes with a feature called “Fast Play” that gives it the ability to establish a connection with your TV more quickly than the original version can. Fast Play works by preloading content — it can, for instance, start downloading a series episode — the moment you fire up the media player’s app. In addition, Mountain View has redesigned the Chromecast app (for both Android and iOS) to list Cast-enabled applications installed on your device, find content within them and to display its latest offers and updates.
According to Google, the streaming stick’s new design (smaller, with an integrated HDMI cable) makes it easier to plug into the HDMI port even if you have other devices plug in. It will be available in lemonade, coral and black starting today in 17 countries and will set you back $35. By the way, the company has also confirmed that you can now Cast Spotify on your TV, as well as Google Photos, BBC iPlayer Radio, Showtime, NBA and MLS.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
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