When an organization drops a handful of press pictures alongside the announcement of a brand new product, we hardly ever get to see the again of the factor. And I get it — there’s nothing significantly photogenic a few bunch of ports and cords. And that’s principally true of the brand new Google TV Streamer, which seems to be extra like a router than it does a successor to the venerable Chromecast dongle.
However we did get the briefest glimpse of the rear of the gadget in Google’s promo video. In it, you see the USB-C energy cable and a touch of the Ethernet port. And people are nice.
But it surely’s somewhat button that’s I’m actually enthusiastic about, as a result of it provides a function that not each streaming gadget has — a foolproof option to discover a lacking distant management. Press the button, and the brand new Google TV voice distant begins chirping, making it simpler to seek out. That’s a function that Roku has lengthy had on its units. And now Google’s obtained it, too.
It’s a two-part deal. You want a tiny little speaker within the distant management to make some noise, initially. And to make issues very easy — in order that I don’t have to fireside up an app on my cellphone or use voice instructions — you then simply press the button on the again of the Google TV Streamer. Easy.
That’s one thing that Apple TV 4K — which continues to be our decide for the best streaming device you should purchase, although it might effectively have some competitors now — doesn’t do. (I had to purchase an AirTag and a case to copy that function. It works great, nevertheless it wasn’t free.)
Right here’s to hoping that Apple and Amazon and anybody else slips on this little quality-of-life winner of their subsequent units. You may not use it usually, nevertheless it’s a lifesaver once you want it.
