Google New Zealand Blog

Nine years later, Chromecast has way more - at a low price

Friday, September 23, 2022

Image: Chromecast with Google TV (HD) and remote lays on top of two books on a coffee table with a decorative bowl nearby.

Since we launched it in 2013, we’ve introduced three generations of the original Chromecast, plus Chromecast Ultra for 4K and HDR support. Most recently, we took our biggest leap yet with Chromecast with Google TV (4K).

Chromecast with Google TV comes with your favourite Chromecast features from over the years — plus the Google TV experience, which brings together movies, shows and more from across your apps and subscriptions and organises them just for you.

Today, we’re expanding this lineup with the new Chromecast with Google TV (HD). We built this product with affordability in mind and to help bring all our favourite features of Chromecast and Google TV to more people than ever.

We’ve come pretty far since the original Chromecast launched 9 years ago. Here’s how we’ve evolved — and what you can expect from the new Chromecast with Google TV (HD).

More affordable than our original Chromecast

Chromecast originally launched as a dongle that made it easy and inexpensive to bring your online entertainment to your TV. At the time, this was a big deal: you could browse the web, watch TV shows and movies, and listen to music simply by plugging it into the back of your TV and connecting the device to Wi-Fi.

Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is just NZ$69. It brings more capabilities and intelligence to the Chromecast experience that people have loved for years.

More streaming options than ever, organised for you

In the beginning, Chromecast launched with just a handful of partners: Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Movies and Google Play Music. Nine years later, there are 10,000+ apps to choose from with Google TV, from TVNZ and Disney+ to Amazon Prime Video, and we continue to add new content all the time.

And with more content choices than ever before, Chromecast with Google TV has helped reinvent what simple and easy content discovery on your TV looks like. It’s the home for your entertainment, bringing together movies, shows and more so you can find what to watch without jumping from app to app.

Image: Three friends sit on a couch in the living room watching a soccer replay on the TV with Chromecast with Google TV.

Google smarts built-in

In 2013, you could use your phone, tablet or laptop with Chromecast to browse and cast content to your TV, play and pause, control the volume and more. Chromecast brought a broad range of content to your big screen, from sharing your family photos to enjoying a video clip for your favourite news site with the press of a button.

Today, with new streaming services and apps launching all the time, there is so much content, and choosing something to watch has become harder than ever. That’s why we built Google TV.

And since launching Google TV, we’ve continued to make updates to the experience, like introducing profiles for everyone in your family to help resolve common complaints like, “why am I getting recommendations for cartoons when I only want thrillers?” It also helps parents have a place for their kids to watch family-friendly content.

Plus, Google Assistant has a dedicated button on the included remote, so you can easily find something to watch - ‘play Vampire Academy on TVNZ+’ - or ask everyday questions like ‘how’s the traffic to work?’ Or, when it’s movie night, you can see your front door on the big screen with a Nest Doorbell to keep tabs on your pizza delivery.

Image:Two people use Chromecast with Google TV to see a live view of their front door where someone waits with a delivery.

Plug in and play

The original Chromecast was a small dongle for your TV that was designed to get out of the way. It introduced the foundational casting experience of using apps that people were familiar with on their smartphone: just open a supported app, press the Cast icon, and sit back and enjoy.

We’ve kept that same spirit with all of our Chromecast devices, and Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is no exception. It comes in the same compact and thin design as the Chromecast with Google TV (4K), tucks neatly behind your TV, and set-up is fast and simple.

And of course, you’ll still have access to your favourite Chromecast features like casting from your phone, sharing your Google Photos to your TV, and casting your Google Meet video calls to TV, so you can join the team meeting or lecture from the comfort of your couch.

Chromecast with Google TV (HD) streams in high definition with 1080p HDR, and we’ve made software optimisations behind the scenes to make sure you get a smooth and snappy experience no matter what TV you’re watching on.

Starting today, Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is available for NZ$69 in our classic Snow colour, from JB Hi-Fi, Noel Leeming, The Warehouse, PB Tech and Harvey Norman and is available in 19 countries now.

From day one with Chromecast, we wanted to create an easy solution that worked for everyone, for every TV in the house. Nine years later, that mission hasn’t changed.

Posted by Google New Zealand Team

Kick-start your fitness routine with Fitbit Inspire 3

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Learn about Fitbit Inspire 3, a fun, easy-to-use tracker that motivates you to be your best self.

Caption: Video highlighting Fitbit Inspire 3, an easy-to-use health and fitness tracker

Health and fitness are personal – your goals, commitment and approaches change over time. For some, carving out time for yourself (let alone your fitness) can be a struggle, especially as routines change. Today, we’re introducing Fitbit Inspire 3, a tracker that can help you live healthier, find your energy, do what you love and feel your best.

Inspire 3 is the next generation of our entry-level health and fitness tracker, helping you work on your best self without breaking the bank. It’s an easy way to track key metrics 24/7 like activity, heart rate, sleep, stress and more. Plus, it comes in a thin, lightweight design with a vibrant colour touchscreen and long battery life that can last up to 10 days (based on usage).

Motivating you to move

Living an active lifestyle doesn’t mean you need to be a health enthusiast. Whether you’re walking to work, trying the latest viral dance craze or just grabbing lunch with friends, Inspire 3 can capture all your movement, automatically tracking Active Zone Minutes, calories burned, distance, heart rate and steps. It’ll also gently remind you to move throughout the day, which can help your overall metabolism. Then, when doing a workout, you can watch your heart rate to see when you’re in fat burn, cardio or peak zones so you know how hard you’re working.

Sleep better and stress less

Being active is only part of your health — getting sleep and managing your mental health have a direct impact on your overall wellbeing, too. With Inspire 3, we make it easy to track all your stats in one place so you can see how your activity and sleep impact your stress level, and vice versa. Wearing your device to sleep, you’ll get insights into your sleep quality with Sleep Stages and Sleep Score, and can then try things like setting a bedtime reminder, a SmartWake alarm or guided breathing on your wrist to help improve your sleep over time.

To help you relax before bed, try mindfulness exercises in the Fitbit app to help you relax before bed, start a meditation practice, and track if your body is showing physical signs of stress with Stress Management Score. Then, see how your activity, sleep and stress impacts your body in the Health Metrics Dashboard. Here you can keep an eye on how your breathing rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature, oxygen saturation (SpO2) and resting heart rate respond to different situations, like alcohol, altitude, caffeine, or a cold, so you can take actions to feel your best.

Caption - Get ready to regain your energy with Fitbit Inspire 3. The tracker is lightweight and easy-to-use, allowing you to move around freely with your friends and track your activity along the way.

Be inspired by your progress and potential

Inspire 3 gives you insights into your body and provides guidance to reach your wellness goals with access to introductory fitness and wellness sessions, guidance, and challenges in the Fitbit app. You can boost your progress by using the app to log your blood glucose, hydration, menstrual cycle, and nutrition information for a 360-degree view of your health and stay motivated by connecting with and challenging friends and family.

With Fitbit Premium, you’ll get access to tools like Daily Readiness Score to gauge your body’s readiness for exercise, Sleep Score breakdown and Sleep Profile to better understand and improve sleep quality, and Stress Management Score details to track your body’s physical signs of stress. You can also access more than 1,000 workouts and mindfulness sessions, a complete wellness report, and more – all in one place with the Fitbit app.

Caption: Inspire 3 has a thin, lightweight design and comes in a colourful assortment of classic, translucent, stainless steel mesh bands and our popular clip to match the vibe you’re feeling on any given day.

Designed for longevity, comfort, and convenience

The lightweight pebble of Inspire 3 is thin, water resistant up to 50 meters, fits naturally on your wrist and has Fitbit’s longest battery life for comfortable 24/7 wear. It also comes in a range of fun colours to brighten your mood and fit your style. Plus, you can easily change up your look with accessories like translucent and stainless steel mesh bands and a clip, sold separately.

Adding even more colour to your day, the bright display lets you quickly see your stats, pick a colourful clock face to fit your style and use the new always-on display function (3+ days with default settings). Whether you’re going for a run or headed to class, you can also stay connected to what matters to you with customizable on-wrist notifications from your phone.

Caption: Inspire 3 empowers you to build a healthy routine while doing what you love.

Inspire 3 is available for $169.95 (NZD), including a six-month Premium membership for new and returning customers. Beginning today, pre-order Inspire 3 online at Fitbit.com and select retailers including JB H-Fi, Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming, with worldwide availability in September.

Post content Posted by Google New Zealand Team

Manage your health and fitness with Fitbit Versa 4 and Sense 2

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Learn more about Fitbit’s newest smartwatches, Smart 2 and Versa 4

Our latest smartwatches, Versa 4 and Sense 2, put health and fitness front and centre. Powered by the new Fitbit OS, these devices are easy to use and designed so you can see what matters most to you, faster.

Thinner and lighter, they have been redesigned to feel more at home on your body, 24/7. The button, which was last featured on Versa 2, is back – with a new location that’s easier to access during your workout.

Caption: Meet our most advanced health-focused smartwatch, Sense 2, powered by an on-wrist continuous EDA sensor for all-day stress management.

Packed with features

Stay on top of the metrics that matter most to you, from 24/7 heart rate monitoring and activity tracking to real-time stats, walk/run detection on your wrist, sleep tracking and stress tracking. Equipped with more than six days of battery life and fast charging (12 minutes of charging = 1 day worth of battery life!), these smartwatches are sure to keep up.

Wear your device to bed to benefit from advanced sleep tracking tools, including our new Premium feature, Sleep Profile. It uses 10 sleep metrics to show you what type of sleeper you are, spot key patterns and help you improve your sleep quality. You can also see how well your body is handling stress with your Stress Management Score so you know when to take a moment for guided breathing, meditation or a reflection.

Versa 4 and Sense 2 are compatible with both iOS and Android and packed with smart features including extended app and text notifications, glanceable alerts, smart replies (Android only) and more. Plus, coming soon, you’ll be able to access Google Maps and Google Wallet right on your wrist.

Next level workouts with Versa 4

Versa 4 has a focus on fitness. Choose from more than 40 exercise modes (more than double we’ve ever had!) all available on-wrist, including new options like HIIT, weight lifting, CrossFit and dance. Head outside with built-in GPS, or find something new with more than 1,000 workouts and mindfulness sessions in Fitbit Premium. Whatever you decide, Active Zone Minutes and in-the-moment heart rate zone alerts, help you track how your effort is adding up.

With Premium, you have access to Daily Readiness Score to help you know when to push hard or take a rest day. Each score is coupled with recommended actions, from an Active Zone Minutes goal and tips for recovery and associated content.

Caption: No matter the workout, Versa 4 helps you stay accountable and monitor your progress to reach your fitness goals with 40+ exercise modes.

Stress less with Sense 2

Sense 2 takes Fitbit’s stress tracking tools even further, with a new Body Response sensor to track continuous electrodermal activity (cEDA) for all-day stress management right from your wrist. Along with cEDA, it uses metrics like heart rate, heart rate variability and skin temperature to help you better understand when your body experiences potential signs of stress. That way, you can be aware of your potential triggers and create a stress management practice to build your resilience over time. Following a Body Response notification, Sense 2 recommends different ways to manage stress in the moment including mood logging, guided breathing, mindfulness sessions, on-wrist or in the Fitbit app.

In addition to the Body Response sensor, the smartwatch is equipped with Fitbit’s other sensors to deliver a holistic view of your overall health. We’ve used a technique that turns metal into vapour, allowing us to integrate the metal electrodes of these sensors directly into the display glass of the device. This creates an even more simplified, streamlined look without sacrificing our technology.

All new accessories for smart style

We’re introducing a second collection of bands from Brother Vellies. Designed by Brother Vellies Founder Aurora James for Fitbit, these woven leather bands are now available in black and oak.

Additional 24mm attach accessories to style your Fitbit smartwatches include three new infinity bands in blue mist, pink sand and waterfall blue, sport bands in glow up/frost white and sea blue/ocean,, vegan leather bands in flax and indigo and Horween® leather band in garnet colour. All new accessories work with the newest smartwatches, and Fitbit Sense and Versa 3.

Versa 4 is available for $379.95 and Sense 2 is available for $449.95 (NZD), and both include a six-month Premium membership (for new or returning customers). Beginning today, pre-order Versa 4 and Sense 2 online at Fitbit.com and select retailers including JB H-Fi, Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming, with worldwide availability this spring.

Caption: Choose from a wide range of accessories to match your style. Easily switch up your band for a more elevated look with new colours of infinity, sport, premium Horween® leather or vegan leather bands - perfect for any occasion.

Posted by Google New Zealand Team

Fitbit’s fall lineup: helping you live your healthiest life

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Learn about Fitbit’s new devices so you can choose the best product for your goals and lifestyle.

Caption: A photo of the new Fitbit devices, showcasing Inspire 3 in morning glow, Versa 4 in waterfall blue and Sense 2 in lunar white, each side-by-side, showing a different colourful clock face.

Fitbit has always been focused on helping make everyone in the world healthier. Millions of people around the globe use Fitbit every day — from checking how well they slept to doing a workout or mindfulness session in our app. Today, I’m excited to share the next generation of Fitbit wearables that combine Fitbit’s health and wellness tools with the smarts of Google — Inspire 3, Versa 4 and Sense 2. These devices are even thinner and more comfortable, so you can wear them all day and night, and you don’t have to charge them every day.

Whether you're focused on improving your mental health, gearing up to run a marathon, or starting a new health and wellness routine, you have a range of easy-to-use devices to choose from. By giving you information about your body that otherwise wouldn’t be top of mind — like your resting heart rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), sleep trends and body’s responses to stressors — you can better understand how to manage your holistic health. Here’s a look at how each device can fit your needs:

Inspire 3 is a fun, easy-to-use tracker that helps you stay on top of your health with 10 days of battery life. It’s a great entry-level device with a rich colour display that can track important metrics at our most accessible price point.
Versa 4 is a fitness-focused smartwatch that offers over 40 exercise modes, real-time stats, built-in GPS and Active Zone Minutes, plus Premium features like Daily Readiness Score to help you reach your activity goals – all with 6 days of battery life in a thinner and lighter design.
Sense 2 is our most advanced health-focused smartwatch with more than six days of battery life that helps you manage stress and track your heart health with sensors that can detect signs of atrial fibrillation through our ECG app and PPG algorithm (both FDA cleared and CE marked), heart rate variability, skin temperature and more. It also includes our new Body Response sensor, which measures cEDA for all-day stress management.

Getting the most out of your Fitbit experience

Our newest offerings are just the start of how we can help you uncover information to improve your overall health and wellness. With the Fitbit app, you can stay motivated and on track with weekly and longitudinal stats about your activity, heart health, sleep and stress. Plus you can log your hydration, menstrual health, mood, nutrition and glucose levels all in one place. Seeing all of your metrics together can help you better understand how the actions you take each day can impact your well-being and make better decisions for your daily life.

You’ll also access important health features, including Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications, which uses our photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor to assess your heart rhythm for signs of atrial fibrillation or AFib, for users 22 years or older with no known history of irregular heart rhythm. This feature has both FDA clearance and CE marking, and it’s compatible with a range of our heart-rate enabled devices.

Fitbit Premium, which is included with all new device purchases for six months, takes your experience even further with additions like Daily Readiness Score and Sleep Profile to dive deeper into your stats and progress, and over 1,000 workout and mindfulness sessions to keep your mind and body active.

Caption - The Fitbit app and Fitbit Premium give you essential insights, tools and motivation to help you reach your goals. The free Fitbit app brings together the stats on your wrist with tools for sleep tracking, stress management, and more, to give a more complete picture of how it all fits together. With Fitbit Premium, you can take your Fitbit experience even further with features like Daily Readiness Score and Sleep Profile, more personalised insights, advanced analytics, and more than 1,000 workout and mindfulness sessions.

Experience Fitbit for yourself

Whether you’re just starting out or love to dig into health stats, we have a device to fit your needs. Don’t know which device is best for you? Take our quiz to find out. We’re confident you’ll find something that makes it easier than ever for you to put your health and wellness first and empower you to be your best self along the way.

Posted by Google New Zealand Team

News Showcase is launching in New Zealand

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Kiwis have more ways to access news and information than ever before. Today, we are announcing major new investments that will continue our support of New Zealand’s vibrant and diverse news industry to help people find quality journalism and contribute to the sustainability of news organisations. These investments will also help newsrooms engage their readers in new ways, today and into the future.

Launching Google News Showcase in Aotearoa New Zealand

To support news organisations and readers in New Zealand, we’re launching Google News Showcase, our curated online experience and licensing program. News Showcase panels display an enhanced view of an article or articles, giving participating publishers more ways to bring important news to readers and explain it in their own voice, along with more direct control of presentation and branding.

This image shows four different News Showcase panels with our publisher partners in New Zealand and shows different ways to cover the news. The publishers shown are The New Zealand Herald, Radio New Zealand, Scoop and BusinessDesk.

Starting today, News Showcase is rolling out in New Zealand with seven news publishers representing more than 20 publications, including national, regional and local news outlets like the New Zealand Herald, RNZ, Crux, Newsroom and Pacific Media Network. This launch builds on News Showcase deals signed with more than 1,700 news publications in more than 17 countries, including Australia, United Kingdom, Japan, India, Germany, Brazil, Italy and Argentina.

News Showcase panels from our New Zealand news partners will begin appearing on Google News on Android, iOS and the web, and in Discover on iOS and Android. The panels direct readers to the full articles on news publications’ websites, enabling them to deepen their relationships with readers.

“By helping us build deeper relationships with readers, Google News Showcase will support the development of the BusinessDesk brand, which in turn boosts our editorial operation,” says Matt Martel, General Manager of BusinessDesk, a leading business and economy digital publication. “Our relationship with Google is a key factor in growing our newsroom from five to more than 20 journalists."

News Showcase highlights news publishers that are investing in comprehensive public interest journalism, giving them a new way to curate their high-quality content on Google’s News and Discover surfaces and bringing essential news coverage to Kiwis looking for it.

“Being able to further highlight the talent of NZME’s 300 editorial staff across our newsrooms is a really positive development, says Michael Boggs, NZME CEO. “NZME is strongly focused on transforming our business digitally, and the Google News Showcase partnership supports that focus. ”.

This GIF shows a rotating view of different News Showcase panels from some of our partners in New Zealand.

“At RNZ we’re huge fans of making sure the brilliant stories from our award-winning journalists reach as many people as possible,” says Megan Whelan, Interim Chief Content Officer of RNZ, New Zealand's independent public service multimedia organisation. "This new agreement is another way to make sure trusted public media content is available to more people via Google News, and that’s definitely a good news story.”

This image shows the logos of the News Showcase partners in New Zealand, including The New Zealand Herald, NewstalkZB, Radio New Zealand, Newsroom, Scoop, Pacific Media Network News, Crux, BusinessDesk, Waikato Herald, The Northland Age, Kāhu and Kāpiti News.

As part of our licensing agreements with publishers for News Showcase, we're also paying participating news organisations to give readers access to some of their paywalled content. This feature means readers will have the opportunity to read more of a publisher’s articles than they would otherwise be able to, encouraging them to learn more about the publication — and potentially subscribe.

"Pacific people from all over the world follow the news and journalism of our New Zealand-based newsroom,” says Don Mann, CEO of Pacific Media Network, a public interest broadcaster that works to empower Pacific cultural identity. “We aim to be the preeminent Pacific media entity for the Pacific diaspora and our relationship with Google will help us achieve this.”

“Crux has already developed a large, loyal local readership, but Google News Showcase will provide our readers with options like the ability to follow their own personal mix of trusted news sources,” says Peter Newport, Managing Editor of Crux local news for Queenstown, Wānaka and Cromwell. “We’re excited about the opportunity, and we think it’s a great initiative in support of strong New Zealand journalism.”

Google News Initiative programs in New Zealand

Google News Showcase is just our latest effort to support publishers of all sizes and the news industry in New Zealand. Through the Google News Initiative (GNI) we have been partnering with news publishers around the world to build a sustainable, diverse and innovative news ecosystem. The team offers training, products and funding to journalists and newsrooms to help strengthen their work in the digital age, and has reached more than 800 journalists and journalism students in New Zealand. These high-demand GNI programs provide an introduction to many of the core skills required to run a digital news business, based on the best practices and lessons of other news publishers around the world.

Digital news business fundamentals for news organisations: The GNI Digital Growth Program offers a six-part free business training, consulting and support workshop to help New Zealand news organisations succeed online.

Journalist Training Camp: At Ngā Kete Wānanga Marae marae, 25 journalism cadets representing multiple ethnicities, languages, and the rainbow and disability communities participated in the Te Rito Training Camp, a digital journalism training course with the Google News Teaching Fellow and heard from some of New Zealand’s leading journalists.

Digital skills training for journalists: In partnership with Telum Media, open sessions around the country are free for journalists to learn the latest tools and processes to support digital reporting. This includes training on tools like Google’s research tool, Pinpoint, which journalists can use to support their reporting and creative data visualisation techniques.

Election policy and misinformation tracking: Building on years of support from the GNI for Policy New Zealand, the team’s latest iteration will provide a digital tool for journalists to understand and report on ahead of local elections. This creates a database for candidates’ key election policies, supporting journalists’ ability to track misinformation.

Media literacy for primary school students: In partnership with Squiz Kids, media literacy module, “Newshounds,“ is a plug-and-play resource for teachers, children and their parents, aimed to empower young people to think critically about the media they consume and give teachers the confidence to teach media literacy in the classroom.

As New Zealand publishers continue to embrace technology to deepen their engagement with readers, we’re proud to be strengthening our commitment to working with and supporting publishers in Aotearoa. Through News Showcase, our other News products and GNI programs, we’re proud to promote quality journalism and a reliable and diverse news industry.

Posted by Caroline Rainsford, Country Director Google New Zealand and Shilpa Jhunjhunwala, Head of News Partnerships Australia & New Zealand.

New Zealand Blog

Nine years later, Chromecast has way more - at a low price

Kick-start your fitness routine with Fitbit Inspire 3

Manage your health and fitness with Fitbit Versa 4 and Sense 2

Fitbit’s fall lineup: helping you live your healthiest life

News Showcase is launching in New Zealand

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