I have had a Chromecast plugged into my TV for many years. The ability to throw something to your TV from an app on your phone is an absolute godsend. This is especially useful when you are traveling and don\u2019t want to miss watching the Warriors get thumped, as you can take your Chromecast, plug it into a TV, and boom. In seconds you can watch the Warriors dropping the ball, or scoring epic tries in a game we lose by 30 points in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bad news, it is going to be a long year for Warriors fans. The good news is the latest Chromecast lets you install apps and comes with a remote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is always the question of if you need something new, or need that upgrade. So in this case, why would you need this when you can install apps on your TV? The easy answer is Smart TVs go out of support all the time. My Panasonic has had a few apps already go out of support. With all the minor tweaks in OS and hardware variations, it isn\u2019t surprising that app makers will only be able to support hardware for a limited time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, the ability to use a separate bit of kit that will stay in support for longer is pretty damn appealing. Consumer NZ and Fair Go covered this a while ago,<\/a> where Hayden explained this better than I can. If you don\u2019t trust me, surely you can trust Consumer NZ and Fair Go. Heck I would trust fair Go with my child, I tried, but apparently they don\u2019t want to babysit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Current Chromecast users will first notice the biggest change. There is a remote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previous Chromecasts were basically a unit to project what you were running from your phone. The Chromecast 4<\/em> is that streaming unit that is equipped with the remote will satisfy most of your streaming requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remote itself is a tidy little unit that feels well built. It meets all the requirements, but for those Google Assistant fans out there, it comes with a button that will make you happy. Pressing the weird bubble symbol you can ask for what you are looking for. The show, movie, series, or weather. You ask, Google Assistant can find it. I found it worked well in testing. I\u2019m not the biggest fan of those kinds of tools, so I stopped using it immediately, but it\u2019s there if you want it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only real issue is the remote apparently appeals to 12 month olds. My little dude eyed it up the moment it came out of the box, and if you leave it within reach then your show is gonna change at random times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n