What you should know

• Google is reportedly gearing as much as launch a brand new Chromecast with Google TV 4K, which might substitute the just about four-year-old mannequin bought at the moment.
• The corporate might tackle the streaming dongle’s efficiency woes with a brand new chip providing extra RAM or storage and a possible OS improve.
• Moreover, Google seems to be engaged on a brand new Chromecast Voice Distant that would ship with the upcoming Chromecast with Google TV 4K refresh.

The streaming stick market has develop into a race to offer the perfect specs on the lowest costs, particularly within the Google TV sector of the market. Google’s first Chromecast with Google TV 4K provided an Android-based OS, intuitive distant, and 4K decision for simply $50 when it was first launched in 2020. Now that it is occurring 4 years previous, the Chromecast with Google TV 4K is displaying its age and will actually use an improve. That is perhaps lastly coming quickly.

In line with a report from 9to5Google, a supply confirmed {that a} Chromecast with Google TV 4K successor is in growth, and the corporate is gearing up for a launch. Prior studies indicated that Google was engaged on an Android-equipped Chromecast gadget, nevertheless it wasn’t recognized for sure what performance or value level it could goal. The upcoming streaming dongle would be the first from Google because the Chromecast with Google TV HD was up to date again in 2022. 

Whereas it is doubtless the next-generation Chromecast with Google TV 4K will embrace a slew of enhancements throughout the board, a degree of focus appears to be like to be the distant. Final yr, a brand-new model of the Chromecast Voice Distant was noticed in an Android TV 14 beta. Whereas the graphic contained in the beta Android TV 14 launch depicted a distant just like the present Chromecast Voice distant, there have been key variations. Notably, the brand new distant anticipated to ship with the Chromecast with Google TV 4K can have extra devoted buttons.

The present Chromecast with Google TV 4K nonetheless runs Android 12 TV, so the leap to Android 14 TV appears believable. The working system improve features a few new software program options that will enhance usability with none {hardware} adjustments. Nonetheless, it is usually affordable that Google would improve the getting older chip discovered inside the Chromecast with Google TV 4K that’s bought at the moment, which is the Amlogic S905X3. 

This processor is not nice, that includes simply 2GB of reminiscence and 8GB of storage. Processing energy is not as vital on a streaming dongle as it’s on one thing like a smartphone, however RAM and on-device storage nonetheless matter. As such, a brand new chip may go a great distance in making the Chromecast with Google TV 4K extra satisfying to make use of. 9to5Google suspects that the corporate might go together with the Amlogic S905X5 processor, which is a two-generations-newer chip than the Amlogic S905X3 from 4 years in the past.

We do not know precisely when the next-generation 4K streaming dongle from Google will debut, however 9to5Google’s phrasing hints at an imminent launch. Although Google I/O is just a few weeks away, it is unlikely one thing like a Chromecast with Google TV 4K can be launched on the occasion.