So the keynote is over and I'm $800 lighter after buying a Pixel XL. But I assumed that was going to happen. I buy the Google phone every year, and the only difference this time is that it's WAY more than I usually spend ($350 last your for my Nexus 5X).

Overall, it was a merely ok keynote, which is surprising considering they announced more hardware than ever. I'll write up a long post about my thoughts, but I'm curious to hear what you guys think, both the Google and Apple fans

I'm thinking I don't care about the Pixel relative to my Nexus 5X. I'll skip a year on that, but I'm tempted by the new Google WiFi gadgets as part of my one-of-these-days home theater upgrade (wherein I will 4K ALL THE THINGS). My Apple Airport Extremes still do the job, but the fact that Google explicitly supports AP roaming in a fire-and-forget fashion is very attractive.

In no particular order:

Pixel phones

I'm mixed about this. I've been a loooongtime supporter of the Nexus line. This does feel like a slight departure from that, despite getting all the same advantages. I am excited that I'll have a reasonably high-end phone for the first time in...maybe ever. I don't think it has the specs an iPhone 7 does, but it's close enough for me, someone who's dealt with mid-range phones since 2008 and is tired of waiting for his camera app to load. I don't care what their camera review site says, and I can't imagine that an 89 is that different from an 86, but as long as it's a good camera I'll be happy. I just want something that'll take a photo quickly so I don't miss yet another photo of my son doing something cute.

Chromecast Ultra

I have a Tivo Bolt now, and ever since then I've rarely used my Roku or Chromecast. I have last year's Chromecast, so 1080p is good enough for me. I'd like to have ethernet, though, so I might think about that down the road, but for now it's not a big deal.

Google WiFi

I'm not sure about this. I think it'll work, but I've been seeing negative reviews of Google's OnHub that reflect some of the issues I've had with mine. But Google's take on Eero, which is in its self a take on lower-end enterprise products like Unifi, could be a big hit for them. I have a lot of clients in my area with big homes where a product like this could improve some bad wifi problems.

I'm almost ready to switch routers, but probably not to another Google product. I'm pissed that they don't offer NAT loopback for some reason. This means that I have to have two "cameras" set up on my phone for my IP camera in our nursery. One works inside our house and the other when we're out. It's annoying.

Google Home

I would have already preordered this if it weren't for a single question I have about it: how does it work with two people?

Between the previous announcement of Google Home and today's presentation, they have never once talked about how it works with multiple users. Can it even? Will it distinguish between my wife and I? Will it tie into each of our accounts? Will it know not to respond to a guest in our home?

Daydream VR

I'm not a VR fan. Mostly I know it'll make me puke, so I'm just not into it. I also haven't been into gaming for years, so I have no interest in an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. But something like the Daydream appeals to me. I can definitely see using it as an immersive theater environment, especially on a plane or vacation. And that's good, because apparently I'm going to get a free one with my Pixel order. Nice!


So that's all I can think of. I'm sure other things will come back to me. Overall it was meh, especially for an even that started with Sundar listing the great epochs of tech history. This was not one.

Fantastic. I just tried calling the Google Store to ask my question about Google Home. Understandably, the 1st tier person didn't know the answer, and put me on hold to go get it. 30 minutes later the call dropped.

Fantastic.

*edit*

I called them back and got the scoop. No, Google Home only works with one account at a time. It'll respond to anyone's voice for questions, but it'll only give you account-related abilities for one user, which is a bummer. I'd love to be able to tell it to add things to my shopping list, but it would be weird if my wife couldn't do the same to hers. Or even worse, I guess if she tried it, it would add things to my list. That's weird. And I have to assume that when someone other than me asked about their upcoming day, it would give them MY appointments, which seems a little sketchy...

I just got an email as an OnHub user with something I don't think they mentioned in the keynote: Google Wifi will work with my existing OnHub router. Interesting. That would be the only reason I'd get one of those, but there are still things about Google's networking gear that bug me...

For that price one would certainly expect it is a rather good high end smartphone!

Lol, yes I suppose so. I think it will be. It has the latest Snapdragon and 4GB of RAM. I guess I'm just not used to having a decent phone. Hopefully I'll be more confident about it when I get it

It's interesting that they're basically matching the prices for Apple's phones. I think my Pixel XL 128GB is exactly the same price as the 7 Plus 128GB.

And you get a headphone jack at no extra charge! To be fair, if you gave me the choice of a headphone jack or a 50m waterproof rating, I'd go with the waterproofing.

Agreed completely. That's disappointing, and they're getting some flack for it.

It is! Very nice. Was that around before yesterday? They didn't mention it being available for previous generations, but I'm glad it is! I might pick one up!

I got one a while back for my older 1st generation Chromecast units and it worked good for them (though it didn't solve the technical problem I was having with my chromecasts).

However on the 2nd generation Chromecast units, I don't see an indication showing that they're even making use of the ethernet portion of the peripheral. For the 1st Gens I could have sworn there was an on screen indicator showing the ethernet icon. Whereas for Gen 2's nothing, just the indication that they are connected to the Wifi network. That let me to conclude that these ethernet adapters were only compatible with Gen 1, and for Gen 2 they were just a fancy power supply. Not sure if that was true. But since it didn't solve my problem then I suddenly stopped caring so I didn't research it further.

Interesting. Thanks for the insight, Tony. I think I'll skip it because that would drive me nuts to see that WiFi icon. It already annoys me when Windows chooses wireless over wired.

I haven't really had any problems with my Chromecast. My Chromecast Audios still give me a hell of a time, though.

Why is that? I'm interested because I was going to buy one of those.

Overall I still like them a lot, and I've had fewer problems lately. I don't know if the app has improved or my network has gotten more stable or what. In the beginning, my phone would lose connection to the Chromecast or the group all the freaking time. I'd go in to skip a track on the current playlist or add a new one, and it would say I wasn't connected even though the music was still playing (the devices stream from the web and not your phone so they'll keep going for a while after the phone disconnects).

Recently it's been better, but it still happens. Sometimes I also have trouble getting the music to start, and my wife experiences that even more on her iPhone.

In the end, I was able to repurpose two speaker sets I already had in the house, and for $35 I had a Sonos-like experience. It's not as polished, but it's way cheaper.

The biggest advantage Chromecast Audio has over Sonos isn't the price, IMO. It's the capabilities. With Chromecast Audio I can use any Chromecast-capable app on my phone and play it across any speakers in my house. This becomes key if you're a podcast listener. As far as I'm concerned, Sonos is completely incapable of playing Podcasts. There are ways, but they're all so inconvenient as to not be worth it. I want my own podcast app with the same feeds I listen to elsewhere and I want it to know where I've left off in an episode I'm already listening to. You can't do this with Sonos.

My take: Sonos is a $200 minimum investment, and that gets you one speaker. Chromecast is a $35 minimum investment, and $70 gets you two zones (this is provided you have speakers already, but since you're a long-time member of this board I assume you do ). $35 is practically in impulse purchase. If you don't end up liking it, you could return it or give it to a friend. So give it a try!