THE Chromecast with Google TV was better, we had heard. And since I always like to switch up my streaming style, I was curious to know how the device held up over two years in its life. i tried this Last yearso why not try, try again?
The great advantage of testing the best streaming devices is that I have a big box in my apartment where I keep them all when I’m not using them. So I took out the Chromecast with Google TV, ran all available system updates, and configured it with all the best streaming services I subscribe.
And the fact that almost every app I use on the Apple TV 4K Love was there (with a few minor exceptions) made it a very simple process. Especially since (unlike previous Chromecasts), this model has a physical remote control.
The good news is that the Chromecast is still great for watching stuff. 99% of the time I didn’t even think about the device I was using. Only on Paramount Morewhere I saw strangely formatted subtitles during yellow jacketsI wondered if things were better on the Apple TV.
That said, I go back to the Apple TV 4K – and here’s why.
I’m sorry, but I don’t need recommendations
The good news we learned in February was simple: the Movies and Shows menus at the top of the screen were gone. It made me hope for a less crowded experience. But my big problem with the Chromecast with Google TV from before remained: I still find its interface a bit cluttered. And while home screens aren’t the ultimate solution, they’re the primary way we’re starting to look at things.
The first hiccup was almost the worst: Brendan Fraser’s The Whale was almost tattooed on the home screen for much of the week in March. Like someone who walked out of that movie (in theaters) after 40 minutes? It was too much. Yeah, it was Oscar season, I get it. It’s not as bad as what you see on the Fire TV, but it’s a far cry from the tidy, spartan Apple TV 4K interface.
Then I tried to help the Chromecast TV find me better shows, giving feedback through its recommendation line. In this “Best picks for you” section, you can long-press the show or movie icon to bring up a menu, where you can click Watched, Watchlist, Like, or Dislike .
The most annoying thing here, beyond the recommendations (maybe I like superhero movies, but no one needs to watch 2015’s Fantastic Four), is that clicking I don’t don’t like didn’t immediately reject the recommendation and replace it. And the more I ran into top “slideshow” image recommendations and “Best picks for me” that did nothing for me? Plus the Chromecast looked like work.
On occasion they’ve nailed it, like a Barry promo splashed across the homepage, or when Spider-Man 2 entered the top picks section. The only problem is that I had already watched Barry’s Season 4 screeners and had just rewatched Spider-Man 2 too recently.
I’m an app-focused streamer
Not a huge amount of work, but two repeated clicks when I started the device to get to the section I want: my apps. Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I should just get used to living the Google Assistant life and using the talk remote to summon apps. But I am traditional.
On the Chromecast, that means I have to triple click to access apps, then scroll down a single horizontal row of apps. And if the app isn’t on the front line, it’s click, click, click and more clicks.
This might not be a big deal for those of you who only have a select group of apps you like. But I’ve installed more than 12, and sometimes found myself clicking all the way to the right to see the dozen that don’t show up on the home screen.
What puzzles me is that this row of app icons doesn’t rearrange based on what you’ve used most recently.
The Chromecast isn’t as fast as usual
The user experience above probably wouldn’t stand out as much to me if it weren’t for the fact that the Chromecast with Google TV interface is a little slow. Not to an unusable point, be warned: there’s just a lag or two that you’ll notice if you’re used to more expensive devices.
I admit that the Apple TV 4K has spoiled me when it comes to user experience. And that would be better off when Apple’s $129 4K box costs 160% more than the $49 Chromecast with Google TV.
But when do you feel like you’re waiting for your technology to catch up? It’s not funny. I know the Roku 4K Streaming Stick It’s not the fastest stick on Earth, but it probably feels a bit faster since it doesn’t have a picture-heavy interface like the aforementioned Chromecast with the Google TV home screen.
I love how the Chromecast receives live TV
The last time I switched to Chromecast, I didn’t stick in part because the live TV screen was notably not enough. Now, however, I want to thank Google for making the integration with Live TV a success. You’ll see tiles for live TV on the Choices for You row, and there’s a live tab at the top of the screen that integrates with YouTube television, TV Sling And Philo.
I switched to YouTube TV earlier this year, and found the Live section to be an easier way to open a live, ongoing show. Now you can switch between the full guide and your favorites, a nice change.
I’d probably like it more if I was still on Sling TV, because its interface isn’t as fun to use as YouTube TV’s. Comparatively, Roku doesn’t play in the over-the-air pay-TV space like this, neither does Apple. Fire TV offers something similar, but the Fire TV platform is even less to me than Google’s.
Outlook: Apple TV still beats Chromecast
I think, unfortunately, the Chromecast with Google TV is wasted on me. The only time I wanted to stream something on my TV was because one of my apps (IWTV, Independent Wrestling TV’s streaming service) didn’t have an app on Google TV . The other apps that weren’t there are for watching TV screens for reviews.
I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who want to be able to “cast” to their TV. And I bet there are people who like to have the recommendations on their screens. I’m just willing to accept that I’m not one of them.