


Being able to easily throw a tiny Chromecast in a backpack and take it anywhere is a huge perk, but the downside, at least at launch, is how much the Stadia relies on your phone to operate. On PC, the process is a bit simpler-you simply login to the Stadia site in Chrome and start playing a game-but the TV experience demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of everything living in the cloud. Then you need the Stadia app to configure your Stadia account, sync a controller and start playing games. If you're playing on a TV, you first need the Google Home app on a smartphone to set up a Chromecast Ultra. Once you get into a game, there are more of the same inconsistencies that pepper Stadia's user experience
