Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Google has adopted a very minimalistic and streamlined approach for its Chromecast and Google TV Streamer remotes. They are small, look slick, and have only the essential buttons (along with a couple of very annoying branded streaming ones, but we shall not speak of those) with a D-pad for navigation.
For the last five years or so, I’ve been content with these official remotes on my Chromecast with Google TV and my Google TV Streamer. They’re very ergonomic and quite reliable, and the battery lasts a really long time. But I recently got an XGIMI Vibe One projector, and I instantly noticed that it had a more useful remote. Now I wish Google offered that for its official units.
More buttons for more features
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
XGIMI’s remote for the Vibe One is, like many of its projector remotes, very tall and very thin. It’s not my favorite form factor; I prefer Google’s shorter and chubbier remote, but what it lacks in ergonomics it makes up for in functionality. Along with the usual power, Assistant, Home, volume, back, streaming services, and d-pad, there are a few interesting additions.
The first one is a profile switcher (the button with the human shape), which is super useful if you live in a multi-person household. Instead of going back to the home screen and scrolling to find the profile switcher, then selecting that, I can just tap this button, and I immediately get taken to the screen where I can switch accounts. The same goes for my husband. It’s such a seamless way to quickly switch users, and it can save a lot of waiting and frustration when several people are sharing the same living room TV. It goes without saying that I’d love to see this on the official Google TV Streamer remote.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
The second interesting addition is my favorite one, though. It’s a dedicated Settings button right below the d-pad that opens Google TV’s sidebar no matter which app (or home screen) I’m on. It pops up on top of the current app, darkens the background but doesn’t stop playback, and gives me quick access to some crucial settings like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as any urgent notifications.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
... continue reading