Google Discontinues the Chromecast, Announces the Google TV Streamer

[TheLostSwede]

Today, Google has announced that it will discontinue all of its Chromecast products, as the company is transitioning to the Google TV Streamer, which offers a very different form factor to its Chromecast products. Over the past 11 years, Google has sold some 100 million Chromecasts over a handful of different generations of products with quite different feature sets. The most recent addition launched in 2022 and Google has promised to continue to support the latest generations of Chromecast devices for now, although the company didn't say for how long.

The Google TV Streamer moves away from the HDMI dongle design, which some might see as a mistake by the company, but those wanting a set-top-box type device will on the other hand be pleased. The white (porcelain) or grey (hazel) slate isn't the most attractive design maybe, somewhat due to the choice of colours by Google, but it's what's on the inside that counts, right? Although Google didn't reveal the CPU used, the company claims the Google TV Streamer is 22 percent faster than the Chromecast with Google TV, comes with 4 GB of RAM and more importantly, it has 32 GB of built-in storage, compared to 8 GB for its latest generation of Chromecast devices.





Another great addition is a Gigabit Ethernet port, at least for those that have a network port near their TV, especially as Google stuck with 802.11ac/WiFi 5 for the wireless connectivity, in addition to Bluetooth 5.1. However, the company is also pushing for the Google TV Streamer to become a home automation hub, as it not only supports Matter like the recent Chromecast devices, but it can also act as a Thread border router. The HDMI port supports HDMI 2.1a and offers HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision support, as well as Dolby Atmos sound output. Power is via USB-C port, although it should be noted that Google lists this port as data capable without going into any further details. The remote control has been given a find my remote update and the Google TV Streamer is equipped with a physical button on the back for this purpose. The updated remote and the ability to connect Bluetooth headphones directly to the Google TV Streamer are likely to be other appreciated quality of life additions. Finally, Google has integrated support for its Gemini AI technology that is said to help deliver things like reviews and breakdowns of content, for those that are into those kinds of things. The Google TV Streamer has an MSRP of US$100, which is twice that of the 4K Chromecast with Google TV and it'll be available from the 24th of September.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[trparky]

Looks and feels like the UI of AppleTV.

 

[MrDweezil]

The original ui-less chromecast and later its 4k model remain the closest thing we'll ever see to perfect tech products.

 

[Franzen4Real]

Well, looks like Chromecast will be #296 for the graveyard. The amount of abandonware Google has produced over the years is absolutely incredible.

Killed by Google

Killed by Google is the open source list of dead Google products, services, and devices. It serves as a tribute and memorial of beloved services and products killed by Google.

killedbygoogle.com

 

[R0H1T]

Doesn't looks too bad with those specs, price should be lower by 20-30% for it to make sense.

but it can also act as a Thread border router.

Also what the heck is this

 

[neatfeatguy]

I didn't even know that the Chromecast was still in use. I thought that thing went extinct years ago.

I remember getting for a gift for Christmas that year they came out. I think my younger brother was the one that got it for us, he had one and loved using it. It was plugged into our TV so we could cast stuff to it, my brother was excited to use it to show us stuff. After a few uses like that I never bothered with it again. A few months later it ended up going back in the box and into a junk drawer and there it sat for 7+ years or so until we moved and I found it and threw it out.

To this day I'm still not even sure what the Chromecast was capable of and I don't care.

 

[Dragokar]

Nokia 8010 is a great alternative.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I think i have the first or second gen chromecast dongle. Its seen extremely limited use. Used it a few times when out overseas and a few times at home for streaming video content but I now use it like a bluetooth dongle to stream music to or act as a go between from my tablet to a bigger screen.

Its still plugged in but theres like 10 years of dust on it. I bought it to have a play around with but im not too bothered with it.

 

[P4-630]

Such device is useless for me, since I have to pay for the channels I want to watch in my country, or netflix or primevideo, I already have such device from my ISP...

 

[TheLostSwede]

Nokia 8010 is a great alternative.

Except it costs more, is only available in some countries, runs Android 11 and has what looks like a horrible remote.
It does have better WiFi though and might be based on the same hardware otherwise, as it has 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage.
Oh and it's not made by Nokia, but rather some company that is licensing the brand name.

Such device is useless for me, since I have to pay for the channels I want to watch in my country, or netflix or primevideo, I already have such device from my ISP...

The one provided by my previous ISP was the worst STB I have ever used. It as lagging all over the place, as it only had 1 GB of RAM and 128 MB of internal storage... It was supposed be to able to output 1080p60, but it looked more like 720p.
It went back in the box and luckily my LG TV could run their app, which also was terrible...

I've had a Chromecast in the past, it was handy at times, but imho, far to fiddly to use. Been using Roku and FireTV hardware after that, which have worked well. Hated Samsung's Tizen OS on our old TV, LG's WebOS is much better in comparison, but not flawless.

 

[Broken Processor]

22 percent faster than a Chromecast is nothing to brag about. They had a real opportunity to make something decent here as lots of people use devices like Nvidia shield TV but hopefully more powerful devices are down the road.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I didn't even know that the Chromecast was still in use. I thought that thing went extinct years ago.

It evolved to a device with an OS and a remote, but it was a bit underpowered and people have been complaining about it lagging for years.

 

[Neo_Morpheus]

With gigabit ethernet and hdmi 2.1 i wonder if i will be able to stream games from my pc using either steamlink or moonlight at 120 fps and hdr.

 

[R0H1T]

22 percent faster than a Chromecast is nothing to brag about.

The extra RAM & storage will come in handy, most TV's on 4k are a ticking timebomb with them slowing massively over time especially with those pesky ads. If you can install Adguard or use custom DNS with this then it would probably solve half of those issues!

 

[TheLostSwede]

With gigabit ethernet and hdmi 2.1 i wonder if i will be able to stream games from my pc using either steamlink or moonlight at 120 fps and hdr.

It'll depend on the SoC used I'd say, but it might be an Amlogic S905X4, which is unlikely to give you what you want. Also, the HDMI 2.1 port is limited to 60 Hz, as HDMI 2.0 got rolled into the 2.1 spec...

 

[bostoneric]

most important can you load any playstore apps like kodi, plex, or etc media players?

 

[Neo_Morpheus]

t'll depend on the SoC used I'd say, but it might be an Amlogic S905X4

Android Authority claims its a MediaTek SOC.

HDMI 2.1 port is limited to 60 Hz, as HDMI 2.0 got rolled into the 2.1 spec...

Man….between this and how they blocked AMD from releasing a proper open source implementation of the driver needed in Linux I truly hate the HDMI consortium.

Why TV’s dont adopt the DisplayPort standard instead…

 

[TheLostSwede]

Android Authority claims its a MediaTek SOC.

It's possible, I'm just basing this on previous hardware, as well as what other Android boxed like the mentioned Nokia branded models uses.

Man….between this and how they blocked AMD from releasing a proper open source implementation of the driver needed in Linux I truly hate the HDMI consortium.

Why TV’s dont adopt the DisplayPort standard instead…

Yeah, HDMI is what it is, a proper mess.

I presume it's in part because companies like Panasonic, Philips and Sony were founding members of the HDMI spec and it's now used on all TVs. That said, I don't understand why no TVs at all have DP inputs.

 

[azrael]

Doesn't looks too bad with those specs, price should be lower by 20-30% for it to make sense.

Also what the heck is this

Thread is the hardware part of Matter, the new protocol aimed at uniting devices across manufacturers. Think of a Thread border router much like a Hue Bridge. It's the hub that ties the Matter devices together. Several devices out there already can act as a Thread border router, for instance the latest Apple TV. I also believe IKEA's new Dirigera bridge can as well.

 

[R0H1T]

So router/wifi extender?

 

[Neo_Morpheus]

That said, I don't understand why no TVs at all have DP inputs.

Or at the very least, include one DP port besides the HDMI ones.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

It's possible, I'm just basing this on previous hardware, as well as what other Android boxed like the mentioned Nokia branded models uses.

Yeah, HDMI is what it is, a proper mess.

I presume it's in part because companies like Panasonic, Philips and Sony were founding members of the HDMI spec and it's now used on all TVs. That said, I don't understand why no TVs at all have DP inputs.

Because including DP is a great way to piss off the HDMI consortium and get your license revoked. They truly live up to the consortium name .

 

[Dragokar]

Except it costs more, is only available in some countries, runs Android 11 and has what looks like a horrible remote.
It does have better WiFi though and might be based on the same hardware otherwise, as it has 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage.
Oh and it's not made by Nokia, but rather some company that is licensing the brand name.


The one provided by my previous ISP was the worst STB I have ever used. It as lagging all over the place, as it only had 1 GB of RAM and 128 MB of internal storage... It was supposed be to able to output 1080p60, but it looked more like 720p.
It went back in the box and luckily my LG TV could run their app, which also was terrible...

I've had a Chromecast in the past, it was handy at times, but imho, far to fiddly to use. Been using Roku and FireTV hardware after that, which have worked well. Hated Samsung's Tizen OS on our old TV, LG's WebOS is much better in comparison, but not flawless.

Well here it is 90€ compared to 119€ for the new Google one. I really like the Chromecast, but did hope for a real successor. Maybe the built-in LAN gets me in the end.

 

[trparky]

Because including DP is a great way to piss off the HDMI consortium and get your license revoked. They truly live up to the consortium name.

And that's when you get a lawyer involved.

 

[R0H1T]

They truly live up to the consortium name .

Not unlike that waste disposal(sanitation?) business based out of NJ which featured in a 6 part documentary on HBO