SmartStream

Google announced that it is ending production of Chromecast. The news may concern those who, like me, find Chromecast with Google TV to be one of the best streamers available.  And while the Chromecast dongle is going away, its replacement, the Google TV Streamer 4K’s operating system , will likely be similar to the current Chromecast with Google TV. We can breathe a sigh of relief. 

The Chromecast dongle launched 11 years ago, and Google sold over 100 million dongles. At the time, few TVs had streaming apps.  Streaming to the TV screen from a phone was complicated and lost quality.  Casting wasn’t just a wifi stream from one device to another, the dongle was sent a link to directly access the original content.  Until the Chromecast with Google TV,  the dongle didn’t have menus or onboard apps.  

Over time, Google Cast was added to Android TV and other smart TVs, such as LG TVs. The list has grown from a few compatible apps to thousands of apps that support casting from a phone to a TV. 

Google’s Gemini AI is a driving force in the change.  Google stated in a post, “The time has now come to evolve the smart TV streaming device category — primed for the new area of AI, entertainment, and smart homes.”  

The new Google TV uses AI to evaluate your preferences and curate content recommendations across all your app subscriptions.  The Gemini technology provides full summaries of movies and TV episodes and breakdowns of each season of TV shows. 

The hideaway dongle has been replaced with a sleek, oval, flat river rock-shaped unit meant to be displayed on the media center in front of the TV. It comes in a choice of porcelain or hazel colors.  

The Google TV Streamer 4K is a premium device that has been likened to the Roku Ultra 4K.  Users will find that it’s much faster than the Chromecast, with double the memory, 32 GB of storage, and 4K HDR with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.  Google promises noticeably quicker app load times.  It connects using Wifi but has an ethernet port for those who want to hard wire to their router. 

Like the Chromecast with Google TV, the Google TV Streamer 4K can control your home devices.  It has Matter home connectivity support and a built-in Thread border router to connect smart home devices like locks and motion sensors. A home panel displays your cameras and syncs with the Google Home app.  

Google will continue to sell its current inventory of Chromecasts while supplies last. It is keeping its support policy for existing Chromecast devices and will continue offering software and security updates. 

The Google Streamer 4K is available for preorder, launching September 24, for $99.99