Google Stadia works on non-Pixel devices, e-ink Android tablet

The Google Stadia made us excited the past few months but only to be disappointed when it finally launched. Well, we’re not just content with the Stadia but we still believe it could be improved in many ways. We just learned about the Google Stadia with Chromecast overheating for some users. An update for Chromecast Ultra has been released to run with Stadia so we can expect improvements. The Stadia platform was introduced as a cheat-proof and cloud-based video game platform by Google but it has yet to prove itself.

At the moment, Stadia works on Pixel devices. It can be enabled on non-Pixel phones but with root needed. Google will support more Pixel phones and platforms. Initially, we learned it would support the Pixel 3 series and multiplayer gaming, and then Pixel 2.

The gaming platform may even come to Android TV via Android 11. The Stadia Wireless Controller will also support phones and other devices this year. Google is said to have started testing Stadia on non-Pixel Android phones so expect more good news and updates in the coming weeks.

Some Stadia subscribers have reported opening the Stadia app on non-Pixel phones and then finding out it already works. Once launched, a “This screen” text appears followed by “Choose where to play”. It’s not fully supported so we think Google is doing some tests.

Google Stadia is also believed to work on an e-book reader, specifically, the Onyx Boox Max 3. It’s a simple hack for now by a PhD student (Sebastian Ørsted from Aarhus University). The e-ink based tablet runs on Android so it could really work.

What’s interesting is that it was able to run on e-ink that usually loads slow. Watch the video below and see that it runs decently:

There is an obvious lag but that’s fine. We just know such low-end tablets could still work and run the Google Stadia platform. This means other similar Android devices will also be able to run Google Stadia.