The Chrome Cast 74: Coffee habits, Surface Duo vibes, and Fortnite’s app store battle royale

If you took a second to read that title up there, you can probably guess: this is an odd-ball episode and we talk through some very interesting news from the past few days. Sometimes this just happens, right? The week is going along like you expect and then out of nowhere, a few things transpire that you can’t seem to escape no matter what you do.

For us this week, two very monumental things occurred: the release of the Surface Duo and Epic’s big battle with Google and Apple over app store fees. For the Surface Duo, the angle Microsoft is taking by making a pocketable computer that happens to make phone calls is something that is not only interesting as a new device type, but also intriguing as a potential form factor for a Chrome OS device one day as well. With the Fortnite drama, our conversation leans towards PWAs and web apps in general as the way forward for many app makers as a potential path that keeps them from being tied down to semi-monopolistic app stores like Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

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NOTABLE LINKS

• Surface Duo official press unveiling
• Apple has finally met its Fortnite match
• freshroastedcoffee.com