The first three generations of the Chromecast were perfectly fine foundations, focused on an affordable and consistent streaming experience, but what about users who wanted to stream ultra-high-definition content? That's where the Chromecast Ultra comes in. While most of them have been fixed in a matter of weeks, it's something to keep in mind and be on the lookout for. Like any device, the Chromecast with Google TV has had a few bugs since it launched, mostly relating to UHD content. I use a USB-C hub anyway to add on Ethernet, which you'll want to do, too, so that things are quicker to buffer. You can add an external hard drive via a compatible USB-C hub, but so long as you're not app-crazy or trying to play games on it, the Chromecast with Google TV should be a great streaming stick for you or for your mother - so long as you don't mind troubleshooting now and then. It's easy enough to go clear the cache on Google TV, but it isn't something that users should have to do just because they have a dozen apps installed and don't have room for that latest Prime Video app update. There are only 8GB of total internal storage, and a little over half of that is taken up by the operating system. Google TV's main changes are the home screen and content browsing screens, putting content front and center based on your watch history, current subscriptions, and what movies and shows are trending.ĨGB of storage is a tight fit, but it's easy enough to make do with.Īs a 4K streaming stick that only costs $50 at list price, you know that Google had to cut corners somewhere, and that was with the storage. This gave Google an edge in that they already had apps and compatibility for all the major streaming services and many of the more niche platforms. Google TV isn't technically a new OS - it's the next evolution of Android TV, which is slowly starting to roll out to other existing Android TV boxes and televisions - but because the guts of the system are the same, this means that Google TV can use almost all of the same apps. That's why when Google finally unveiled its latest Chromecast last fall, the Chromecast with Google TV finally came with a remote and a fully-functioning operating system to go with it.

Throughout each generation of Chromecast, users complained that using their phone as a remote just wasn't as good as using a dedicated remote - and they were right.

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