The Chrome Cast

Latest Episodes:

An interview with OWC's Chris Kooistra Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

For this episode of The Chrome Cast, we have a special guest: Chris Kooistra, Director of Marketing for OWC. If you aren't familiar with the company, OWC builds docking and storage solutions primarily for Macbooks that are tested to work with Chromebooks as well. Their products range from SSDs to multi-port docking solutions to full-blown RAID arrays for creators that need more storage and workspace to get the job done.

For us, however, we wanted to know a bit more about some of the products that were announced at CES 2022 and how those and OWC's other, existing peripherals work with Chromebooks. Though many of OWC's products aren't labeled as official 'Works with Chromebooks' accessories, the company spends quite a bit of time making sure things just work with Chrome OS and the we're excited to get our hands on some of these new docks and drives to see just how well things work.

Notable Links

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This episode is brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, and more. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

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Chrome OS Flex arrives to save aging laptops Feb 19, 2022

Show notes

This week on The Chrome Cast, we begin the show with a bit of an unplanned dive into the new website, highlighting all the changes and reasons we felt it was time to roll out a new version - V4 - of Chrome Unboxed. There are so many new things to explore on the site and we're genuinely hopeful that all our readers find the new site more helpful and more engaging as an overall experience.

The rest of the podcast is spent talking about the biggest news of the past week in the Chrome OS universe: Chrome OS Flex. This new version of Chrome OS aims to bring the same Chrome OS experience we know and love to aging PCs and Macbooks in just about the simplest way possible. And it is legit, full-blown Chrome OS, too. It's wild how well it works and there's a lot to talk about with Google's latest move, here.

NOTABLE LINKS

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This episode is brought to you by Fresh Roasted Coffee. To check it out, go to https://chromeunboxed.com/coffee/ and use the discount code CHROMEUNBOXED for 15% off your initial purchase!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, and more. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chrome OS 98 arrives with some great new features Feb 12, 2022

Show notes

This week, we begin the podcast by debuting our latest giveaway: 6 Lenovo Smart Clocks with the wireless charging dock. You can check out more details on that device here, but don’t forget to get entered for your chance to win down further in this post. This time, the giveaway will run until the end of the month and we’ll draw 6 lucky winners on February 28th at 10am.

Oh, and this is our first podcast with a video component available, too! We’ll be tweaking and honing this element as we go, but the core pieces are now in place for you to watch/listen to the podcast from this point forward. We really hope you enjoy it! Now, let’s talk about the actual podcast content a bit, shall we?

The first large segment of the show is spent talking about Chrome and Chrome OS 98 and all the new, small, useful features that have come along with them. We actually have a video that just went live highlighting a few of these things, and with the new 4-week update schedule in place, it seems that these simple feature additions could be the way of things for the foreseeable future.

Additionally, we discuss the Samsung Unpacked event and some of the noteworthy things that came from it. Of particular interest was the fact that Samsung is including 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates, surpassing Google’s own Pixel phones by a full 2 years in that regard. Samsung also made it clear that their full camera functionality for the Galaxy S22 will be available in popular apps like Instagram, Snapchat and more. In some ways, Samsung is simply besting Google at making Android an OS for the masses.

NOTABLE LINKS

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This episode is sponsored by VIZOR, Chromebook and IT Asset Management Software for K-12. CLICK HERE to schedule a demo!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to get 2 years of the best VPN service with 68% off for $3.71/month.

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Chromebook sales numbers are down, Pixel sales soar in Q4 of 2021 Feb 06, 2022

Show notes

This week on The Chrome Cast, we begin the show talking through our recent review of the ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5400. It has become a favorite around the office and there are a lot of reasons why, so we cover those and talk about a few other hardware-related things we’re looking forward to form some other Chromebooks on the way.

Next up, we walk through the slightly-misleading headlines swirling around the internet concerning some pretty big drop-offs in sales numbers for Chromebooks in Q4 of 2021 versus the previous Q4 of 2020. As you can imagine, comparing numbers in the midst of the pandemic in 2020 to what was going on in Q4 of 2021 skews things a bit, and we get into all the reasons why we should all expect Chromebook sales to be quite a bit lower than they were in 2020.

We also discuss the very positive numbers Google shared for their Pixel 6 sales while also pumping the brakes a bit about what those numbers actually translate to. While it is great to see the Pixel 6 selling well, we have to look at the smartphone market as a whole and remember Google still has a large hill to climb, there.

NOTABLE LINKS

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This episode is sponsored by VIZOR, Chromebook and IT Asset Management Software for K-12 CLICK HERE to schedule a demo and get 20% off!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to get 2 years of the best VPN service with 68% off for $3.71/month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New details emerge on the Pixel Notepad and Pixel Watch Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

This week on The Chrome Cast, we begin things by introducing our newest, soon-to-be employee: Andrew Johnson. After letting all of you get to know him a bit better, we move on to talking through the newest leaks surrounding the Pixel Notepad and Pixel Watch. For the Notepad, that means we’re talking about the possible $1399 price tag and with the Pixel Watch, it means we’re discussing the rumored May 26th launch date.

Next, we talk through the recent findings that show RGB keyboards in the works for Chromebooks. This means Google and Chromebook manufacturers are really serious about gaming on Chrome OS and as we await the release of ‘Borealis’ – a.k.a. Steam on Chrome OS – it looks like Chromebook makers are getting things in line to take full advantage.

Finally, we discuss MediaTek’s new Kompanio chips for Chromebooks and the latest news that reveals the new ‘Boreal’ device – one we hoped was a high-end Chromecast with Google TV – will likely be a standard HD version at an even lower price. While its a bit of a bummer, it is probably a good move as we look at the current state of the market for streaming dongles.

NOTABLE LINKS

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This episode is sponsored by VIZOR, Chromebook and IT Asset Management Software for K-12 CLICK HERE to schedule a demo and get 20% off!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to get 2 years of the best VPN service with 68% off for $3.71/month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pixel Notepad, Pixel 6 updates, and fast MediaTek Chromebooks Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of The Chrome Cast, we begin the show by talking about the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro update that arrived just hours after we wrapped up our podcast last week. Though all our thoughts about the massively-delayed update still hold, it was really great to finally see this one arrive for Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners late last week.

For the next portion of the show, we discuss the newly-named (and rumored) Pixel Notepad and why this name feels so out of place for a folding phone that most likely won't include a stylus. Or will it? Maybe Google has more surprises up its sleeve than we expect, including a rumored price that should undercut the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 at launch.

Finally, we discuss our latest video a bit as we delve into the speed on offer by the new MediaTek Kompanio 1380 inside the upcoming Acer Chromebook Spin 513. This processor is the first real step forward we've seen in the ARM space and though we can't share any benchmarks, we can tell you how quick it runs and how well it handles every Chromebook task we could muster.

NOTABLE LINKS

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This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on our website, and more. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pixel Fold hopes ignite as Pixel 6 frustrations mount Jan 14, 2022

Show notes

This week on The Chrome Cast, we spend almost all of our time in Pixel world. With the new leaks out there showing off the Pixel Fold in the latest Android 12L Beta (via the SIM card insertion help page), we’ve gone from just hoping that Google is building a foldable Pixel to feeling quite confident that not only is that still happening, but could be on the way with a key differentiator from the existing Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.

For the second half of the show, we chat about the growing discontent surrounding the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. With the new flagship phones and their brand-new Tensor SoC and Samsung modem, we’re getting quite a few bugs. Part of that is the hardware, and part of it is Android 12, but the combination is proving to be a bit of a mess of late. With no update in sight until the end of January, you basically have a swath of users on the latest, greatest Pixel with over 3 months of waiting for an update to fix the launch day bugs. It’s not good.

As a wrap up on a much lighter note, we talk through our hands-on time with the new Acer Chromebook Spin 513 with the new MediaTek Kompanio 1380 on the inside. With high end components like a high-res, 3:2 QHD screen, this device is impressive even in this pre-production state. This one has us very excited about the potential of ARM in Chromebooks in 2022.

NOTABLE LINKS

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This episode is sponsored by VIZOR, Chromebook 1:1 Management Software for K-12. CLICK HERE to schedule a demo and get 20% off!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to get 2 years of the best VPN service with 68% off for $3.71/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, and more. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CES 2022 recap Jan 09, 2022

Show notes

This week on The Chrome Cast, we're looking back at all the fun stuff we covered from CES 2022. While we couldn't be at the show this year due to increased COVID activity and the omicron variant, all our meetings were able to be conducted in a virtual space and HP was even kind enough to send over a prototype of the new, amazing HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook that we were able to actually get a video produced for.

Additinoally, Acer announced the world's first MediaTek Kompanio 1380-powered Chromebook in the new Spin 513 and we are very much looking forward to getting our hands on it early next week. Along with that announcement, ASUS also surprised everyone by including a new Flip CX5 in a 16-inch, 16:10 variant that we'll gather details on as time goes on. Add those Chromebook announcements to the slew of other fun, non-Google, non-Chromebook tech that was announced and there's plenty to talk this week.

NOTABLE LINKS

This episode is sponsored by VIZOR, Chromebook 1:1 Management Software for K-12. CLICK HERE to schedule a demo and get 20% off!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Folding phones and a look back at Chrome Unboxed in 2021 Jan 01, 2022

Show notes

After talking a bit about the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and how excited it makes me for the possibility of the Pixel Fold in 2022, we transition the show to a more retrospective time as we look back on the 10 most-viewed articles of 2021 on Chrome Unboxed. That list takes us through quite a few memories and gives us a bit of a chance to look back on the year that was as we move into 2022.

NOTABLE LINKS

This episode is brought to you by Fresh Roasted Coffee. To check it out, go to https://chromeunboxed.com/coffee/ and use the discount code CHROMEUNBOXED for 15% off your initial purchase!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pixel Watch nears as Google Play Games comes to Windows Dec 18, 2021

Show notes

This week on The Chrome Cast, we begin things on a somber note as we reflect a bit about the recent tornadoes that ravaged our home state of Kentucky. It's been a rough time for many in our Commonwealth and we've put together a way for our audience - readers, YouTube viewers, and podcast listeners - to band together to try and help out a group in need that is near and dear to our hearts.

The rest of the show is on a much lighter note, however, as we discuss the most recent Pixel Watch leaks, the failed merger of Duo and Google Meet (and what that could end up meaning for Duo long-term), some new camera-related tricks coming to Chromebooks. We wrap up by discussing the huge news that Google Play Games is on the way for Windows on PC and the far-reaching effect this new Android games conduit could have on Chromebooks in the future.

NOTABLE LINKS

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This episode is brought to you by Fresh Roasted Coffee. To check it out, go to https://chromeunboxed.com/coffee/ and use the discount code CHROMEUNBOXED for 15% off your initial purchase!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices