Why Google decided now’s the time to move on from Chromecast

The Chromecast is going away aft much than a decade successful Google’s hardware portfolio, pinch nan institution phasing it retired to make room for the caller Google TV Streamer. In 2013, nan timing was cleanable for nan Chromecast’s success. Most TVs of that era had rudimentary intermezo apps that were often slow, truthful beaming contented from your telephone to a TV made a batch of sense.

But times person changed. With nan Chromecast pinch Google TV successful 2020. Google pivoted successful nan other guidance pinch a overmuch much traditional, lean-back intermezo experience. Casting took a backseat to carousels of contented recommendations, and autochthonal apps returned.

The Google TV Streamer is designed to build connected that strategy by infusing Gemini AI smarts into nan software. It’ll put smart location controls correct connected your TV screen. And yes, it’ll beryllium faster than nan often-laggy Chromecast. “It is blazingly fast, truthful it’s a much premium exemplary than what we’ve been releasing before,” says Shalini Govil-Pai, nan VP and GM of Google TV. I said pinch her past week to perceive much astir nan reasoning down Google’s $99 device, which goes connected waste successful precocious September.

“The Google TV Streamer was our consequence to a batch of our users saying ‘hey, Chromecast is awesome and really inexpensive. But we tin get inexpensive devices from a batch of players now,’’ Govil-Pai said. (Walmart’s Onn brand is filling retired nan under-$50 area quite well pinch aggregate Google TV streamers, and Amazon and Roku some waste devices priced successful that aforesaid impulse-buy territory.)

So Google decided to attraction connected a higher-end device, and it viewed nan Nvidia Shield — agelong praised arsenic nan astir performant Android TV streamer — arsenic thing to strive towards. “The Nvidia Shield was our golden tier value constituent arsenic good arsenic golden tier performance, and this is really what it’s going to beryllium pinch our Google TV Streamer. That’s why we’re very excited astir it.”

And yet, moreover correct aft nan announcement, immoderate of our commenters were disappointment that Google had settled for conscionable a 22 percent boost successful CPU speed. There’s a bully chance this point will still benchmark underneath nan reasonably ancient Shield. Why not conscionable driblet a Tensor spot into it?

It comes down to costs and keeping nan Streamer astatine a value that’s acceptable for mean consumers. “We don’t cognize if there’s functionality that would really person group to bargain pricier value points than this, but nan marketplace is mostly telling america correct now group are astir apt not fresh for it,” Govil-Pai said.

And moreover if location is yet a higher-priced surviving room instrumentality from Google, it sounds for illustration horsepower won’t beryllium nan main justification. “Over time, do we person capable functionality, let’s opportunity from a Gemini perspective, that really make it worthwhile to walk moreover much money? Then we will decidedly look astatine it,” she said. “But astatine this point, I deliberation this is nan competitory value constituent that we want to play at.” 

Google has doubled nan magnitude of RAM successful nan Google TV Streamer, which could play arsenic overmuch of a domiciled arsenic nan CPU bump erstwhile it comes to ensuring smoother day-to-day capacity — and keeping it that measurement aft a twelvemonth aliases two. The Chromecast pinch Google TV had a estimation for faring okay correct retired of nan box, but gradually getting laggy complete time. Google’s determination to instrumentality pinch Wi-Fi 5 connected a streaming instrumentality is unfortunate, but astatine slightest there’s a built-in gigabit ethernet jack.

The Google TV Streamer is besides comparatively future-proofed arsenic a centerpiece of nan smart home. The Google Home sheet will fto you quickly dim lights, position cameras, trigger automations, and truthful on. There’s Matter support and a Thread separator router baked correct in, too.

As for nan caller package capabilities, Govil-Pai said Google is trying to reside modern trends. You tin usage Gemini to create generative AI screensavers that are shown erstwhile nan Google TV Streamer is successful ambient mode — kind of for illustration a Frame TV — aliases inquire it to propulsion up photos from a caller trip. On a related note, I asked Govil-Pai why there’s still nary due Google Photos app for nan company’s TV platform. “What we recovered successful our personification studies is that astir group don’t really want to unfastened nan app connected TV. They conscionable want to very quickly get to things, and truthful that’s why we judge nan voice-based interactions — for illustration ‘hey, show maine my memories from past year’ — is nan much applicable experience.”

On nan Google TV Streamer, Gemini will besides show overview summaries of shows and movies erstwhile you click into their item pages. The outgoing Chromecast already shows Rotten Tomatoes scores and IMDB ratings, but this will aggregate feedback from much places. “You tin spot a summary crossed nan web of what group are saying astir this show,” Govil-Pai said. “Like, is it amazing? Is it not truthful amazing, but really bully for group who emotion sci-fi? All of that will beryllium summarized for you.” Google believes LLMs tin besides nutrient much fine-tuned recommendations compared to nan reasonably generic categories that Google TV surfaces correct now.

Despite each these forward-facing features, 1 of Govil-Pai’s favourite caller additions is among nan simplest: nan Google TV Streamer has a distant finder fastener connected nan backmost of nan unit. When you property it, nan distant emits a beeping sound, making it easier to find connected movie night. Your move, Apple, and no... using my telephone to find a remote isn’t nan answer.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge