I like the slip there.

I too have ordered my 5X. As soon as it was announced I started refreshing the Google store like mad. About 20 minutes after the presentation ended we got the refresh and a couple minutes my phone was ordered.

I'm very disappointed about the lack of wireless charging because I have a really nice Tylt charger, but I'll still use it for my Nexus 7. I keep reading that they got rid of Qi because they figured it was worth having the fast charging. I'm not sure why you can't have both, and I don't care about fast charging when I'm sleeping. I also really like phone docks, though the marketplace doesn't seem to. At least it'll be nice to not have to worry about which way the charger plugs in.

I'm most excited about the camera on the new phone. The Nexus 6 had a good camera but not great. The Nexus 5 has a truly terrible camera, so they had to improve there. Google kept saying the camera will launch quickly and be really fast at taking photos. I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship here, though. Every time I come back the camera works great for a while, then eventually I'm pressing the shutter button and the photo just won't take. There's something about Android that makes it get wonky over time.


Immediately after ordering the Nexus 5X, I ordered two Chromecast Audio devices. I can't tell you how excited I am for these things. I've wanted a multi-room audio system for years, but the cheapest you can do that with Sonos is $400. I already have various speaker systems I can repurpose, so my minimum is $70. I also love the ability to share the current playlist. My wife can start playing music on the Chromecast, and I can open the same app and add to the playlist or skip to the next song. They showed this happening with Spotify but said nothing about support for other apps. I would assume it works with Google Music.


Speaking of Google Music, they're now matching Apple's family plan of $15/month for up to six family members. They really had to do this. I was still on the introductory price of $7.99/month, but my wife is on the $9.99 plan so this will already save money for just the two of us, and I'll probably add our mothers and my brother in law.

The other announcement I found interesting was the album sharing in Google Photos. For a long time now, I've been wondering what the best way is for my wife and I to combine our photo collections. Now it's possible to combine photos from two collections, and share those albums. It's a nice feature, but part of me still thinks it's a little clunky. I'm still not sure if we'll use it because it requires a bit of work. It also assumes that all photos are taken as part of specific events or occasions. With a toddler around, my wife and I end up taking hundreds of completely random photos just when our kid is doing something hilarious and/or adorable. I guess those could all be part of one album, but like I said, it's still clunky. I'm still not sure what the best solution is...

All in all, it was a good announcement. I was happy about the live stream, although the video seemed to have a hard time with the Windows 95 screensaver they were using as their background.

And as long as I'm being catty, the presenters really didn't bring their A games today. From Sundar to almost every last presenter, none of them seemed comfortable on stage. I also wonder if the guy who presented the new flagship phones looked at everyone back stage and wondered if he might have made the wrong style choice (which he seemed about 15 years too old for anyway). Ooof, sorry about that. Had to get that off my chest. As pompous as I find all Apple presentations, at least they have style