Ambient Mode is a feature on Google smart displays and Chromecast that features rotating images — artwork, news items, or your own Google Photos, depending on your preference. Previously, if you chose to display your own photos, Google's algorithms would evaluate your pics before displaying them, filtering out the crummy ones. Now, you have the option to include your less-than-ideal shots — if you want to do that for some reason.

Ambient Mode on smart devices can now be told to stop being so picky, include 'objectively bad photos' was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Ambient Mode is a feature on Google smart displays and Chromecast that features rotating images — artwork, news items, or your own Google Photos, depending on your preference. Previously, if you chose to display your own photos, Google's algorithms would evaluate your pics before displaying them, filtering out the crummy ones. Now, you have the option to include your less-than-ideal shots — if you want to do that for some reason.

Ambient Mode on smart devices can now be told to stop being so picky, include 'objectively bad photos' was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

It's Wednesday afternoon! You know what that means: the week is more than half over, and we've got a fresh crop of deals for you. Proceed with caution — there's a lot in impulse buy territory here, from cheap Chromecasts to smart plugs and phone chargers. There are a couple of bigger discounts, too, like $45 off the best portable projector you can buy.

Chromecast: $7 off standard, $13.80 off Ultra

• Chromecast — $28 with coupon, $7 off (Rakuten)
• Chromecast Ultra — $55.20 with coupon, $13.80 off (Rakuten)

If you've got something with an HDMI port that you want to get online content onto, a Chromecast should be high on your list of potential ways to do it.

Midweek deals: Discounts on Chromecast, Anker Nebula Capsule portable projector, Anki Cozmo robot, and more was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

In more bad news for users of once-popular BeyondPod, the app it has now lost cast functionality. It's been using Google Cast API v2 that was deprecated back in 2017, but since that has finally been sunsetted, casting from the app is no longer possible.

Since it was taken over by Smart Data Systems in March 2016, BeyondPod has been a buggy mess. It also stopped working on Android Auto last summer, although that problem was later resolved.

Losing Cast support could be the final nail in BeyondPod's coffin was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Epix is the latest cable network to get hip to its industry dying. As such, it's launched Epix Now, a standalone streaming service that offers access to its library of content on demand for a pretty fair price: $5.99 per month.

Your six bucks gets you access to "thousands of hit Hollywood movies and classic film franchises," including recognizable recent hits like Arrival, A Quiet Place, and, erm, Sherlock Gnomes? They can't all be winners.

Epix streaming plan and Android app are now available, costs $5.99 a month was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

SiriusXM users have been asking for Chromecast support for years, and at long last, their prayers have been answered. Unfortunately, the long-awaited functionality appears to have quite a few problems, with several Play Store reviews with complaints about it.

The Chromecast integration seems to be working well for some, though not so much for others.

SiriusXM app adds Chromecast support, though it seems to have some bugs was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

It's time to bid farewell to Google's audio streaming dongle, the Chromecast Audio. After a significant price drop late last year, its stock has since been depleted in the Google store and at Best Buy and other retail locations, and there are already eBay listings up asking for twice what the device was worth in its heyday.

The Chromecast Audio served as an incredible tool for those who merely wanted to sync their existing audio setups with the rest of their Cast-enabled devices.

Opinion: An Ode to the Chromecast Audio was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Imagine: you've plopped down on the couch and fired up Hulu on your phone, ready to watch your stories on the big screen using a Chromecast. But as the show starts, you're struck with a deafening wall of sound — you left the volume on blast the last time you were watching TV. Where's the remote? You have no idea.

Well, don't panic, because now, the Hulu app lets you adjust Chromecast playback volume right from your phone.

Hulu now lets you adjust Chromecast playback volume using your phone was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

For just $9, this second-generation Chromecast deal at Walmart is a no-brainer. I like keeping a couple of extra Chromecast dongles around for that relative who wants to stream "the Netflix" from their decade-old TV, and this is a good chance to stock up on them.

The discounted price of $9 is actually visible on the Walmart website for once.

You won't be able to avail of this deal from the warmth of your home though, as it's offline-only.

Get a second-gen Chromecast for just $9 in-store at Walmart, a crazy $16 off MSRP was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

This won't be the most important thing you'll read all day, but we're getting so many tips about it that we had to write a post. Back in April 2018, Google was spotted testing changes to the Chromecast ambient mode/home screen, and the new UI is now rolling out more widely.

Most people probably won't even notice, but Google Sans replaces Roboto entirely as the typeface used for the clock, weather, and other information.

Google Chromecast ambient mode UI changes are rolling out to more users was written by the awesome team at Android Police.