It's been just a few weeks since the Microsoft Xbox Series S/X and Sony PlayStation 5 consoles hit store shelves, with people scrambling to pick up what little available stock there is before the holidays arrive. But said consoles are hundreds of dollars a pop, and right now they aren't worth the price of admission considering how few next-gen titles are available. So what's a gamer with a slim wallet and a dream to play the latest games to do? With streaming services on the rise thanks to advances in broadband internet speeds, now is the time to look to game streaming as just another option, like video and music streaming. Whether you're just itching to play the latest titles on your outdated laptop, or want to enjoy your own personal library on the go, there are multiple game streaming services to choose from, all catering to different needs.

Google launched Stadia, a streaming service that lets you play high-quality video games, exactly 12 months ago. The launch was met with a mixture of skepticism and disappointment. Was Stadia viable for people with an average-at-best internet connection? Would Google abandon it like Daydream, Reader and so many other services? These were perfectly valid questions. A year ago, it arrived without visible achievements, voice chat, 4K resolution on the web and most of the social features teased at the Game Developers' Conference, such as State Share and Crowd Play. The company has spent the last year adding features that fans were clamoring for at launch. The store has a broader selection of games and Stadia Pro, its subscription-based offering, has a better lineup of freebies, too. The service faces stiff competition, though, from rival offerings such as Microsoft's xCloud.

Heading back to school this year may be unlike any previous year, but whether you're at home or in a formal classroom, you'll need a way to relax. Here are some devices that can bring the theater experience to rooms of any size, while leaving a few bucks left over for you to spend elsewhere. TCL's 5-series 4K TVs will give you a high-res screen with support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR at a price that comes in under $300. The built-in Roku OS adds support for nearly every streaming app your parents have logins for -- HBO Max is the only major one missing so you'll have to live with HBO Now or HBO Go -- and it's perfect for use with a PS4 or Xbox One with auto-game mode switching. Three HDMI inputs mean there's room for expansion as you add additional hardware and the remote is easy enough to use that even your roommate can figure it out.

The Stadia is nothing short of revolutionary. Its core technology delivers on a promise decades in the making: console-quality gaming, without the console. But revolutions have unpredictable outcomes, leave a trail of destruction in their wake, and have a tendency to destroy those who start them. Will Google be able to see this through? Once Stadia is up and running, the system is nearly indistinguishable from playing a game on a console sitting under your TV, except there's no fan noise, no downloads or discs, and, well, no console. The bulk of my time on the Stadia was spent with the system in traditional TV mode.

Labor Day means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it honors America's strong labor force, and for others it means the autumn semester is starting and summer is over. For tech buyers, it's one of the best times to find good deals. A number of retailers are holding labor day sales for TVs, laptops, and other personal electronics. With some help from the team at TechBargains, we've highlighted some of the very best sales below.

There aren't many gadgets that I'm still using five years after I buy them, except for maybe a laptop. Even then, that's getting quite long in the tooth given how quickly upgrades arrive these days. Chromecast and Google Cast are still things that I use multiple times a day, every day. When Google first introduced the Chromecast in 2013, the company promised to make any TV with an HDMI port a smart display with the combination of a thumbdrive-like dongle and your home WiFi. That it did, but in the months that followed, Google expanded the tech undergirding its TV accessory well beyond that $35 device.

Google is having a hardware sale.Credit: Google Amazon typically offers Prime Day discounts on their Fire tablets, Kindle E-readers and Echo digital assistants. This year is no exception with the Echo Show already discounted $100 through Prime Day which starts on July 16th and ends on the 17th. It's offering deep discounts on some of its own hardware, and you don't have to pay the fee to be a Prime member or wait until Prime Day to take advantage. If you want a hands-free digital assistant so you can buy stuff from Amazon, the company's line of Echo devices is for you. If you want to have something that resembles a normal conversation with a digital assistant that leads the field when it comes to answering questions and providing information, Google's line of Home devices is what you want.

Amazon is said to be working on two new Fire TV streaming devices. One of the new Amazon Fire TV devices seems to look a lot like Google's Chromecast Ultras, while the other appears to look like a cube-shaped version of the Echo Dot. Information on Amazon's upcoming new Fire TV streaming devices were first reported by AFTVNews. The site even shared a photo of the two devices side-by-side. One of the new Fire TV devices comes with a dongle-like design that's very reminiscent of the Chromecast Ultra, albeit having a square-shaped body.

Google tweeted Wednesday that it has opened pre-orders for Daydream View headset and Chromecast Ultra. The devices will be available on pre-orders for the U.S. U.K. and Germany online. The Daydream View headset is priced at 79, while the 4K-capable Ultra is priced at 69. The View is compatible with the Daydream VR platform-capable Google Pixel smartphone. The headset will use VR images generated by Pixel smartphone so users will need the smartphone before they invest in the headset.

Back in September, Digital Trends exclusively reported that Google would open pop-up shops in New York City to showcase its latest and greatest hardware. Google will open the doors of its new 96 Spring Street pop-up shop on October 20 to the public. The space will be open throughout the holidays to tempt people into buying Google's Pixel phones, Daydream View VR headset, Google Home, and Chromecast Ultra. We strolled into 96 Spring Street to see Google's new hardware ecosystem in action and walked away with a better understanding of the search giant's future trajectory into the great unknown landscape of artificial intelligence. Google's AI Assistant is at the core of every experience we saw at the pop-up shop.