After more than a decade, Google is ending the production and shipment of its Chromecast streaming TV dongle.
The move, announced on Tuesday, coincides with the launch of the Google TV Streamer, a $100 Android TV-powered device that will now serve as the flagship Google TV streaming product.
In a blog post, Google’s Vice President of Engineering for Health and Home Majd Bakar said the original Google Chromecast debuted on the market when there were few streaming TV apps that were ready for the biggest screen in the house.
Streaming was unreliable and complicated and connecting your TV to your phone, tablet or laptop was clunky and hard,” Bakar wrote. “Chromecast was our answer to this problem, a simple and affordable way to cast your favorite online content right on your TV screen.”
The original Chromecast debuted in July 2013, and looked like an oversized USB flash storage drive. It did, in fact, have a minimal amount of flash storage, though users couldn’t actually install apps on the device itself. Instead, streaming apps — YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu Plus and Crackle were among the few — were installed on a phone or tablet, and then “cast” to the Google Chromecast through the Google Cast protocol. It cost just $35 (or a little more than $43 when adjusted for inflation).
The Chromecast was a runaway success, owed to its low price point and relative ease of use. Google followed up with a second-generation device that looked more like a hockey puck, as well as a similar-looking Chromecast Audio. A Chromecast Ultra followed close behind, with support for Google Stadia games and ultra-high definition (UHD/4K) video streams — one of the first devices to support anything beyond high definition (HD) video.
Over time, Google has faced increased competition from low-cost streaming devices, including those offered by Roku and Amazon. Today, Roku and Amazon have the lion’s share of the domestic streaming marketplace in the United States, but the relative affordability of Google’s Chromecast devices have made it a beloved device in many homes around the world.
Just when it seemed like Google might be throwing in the towel, the company introduced a new Chromecast in 2020 that offered on-device app installations and came bundled with a dedicated remote control. It was also the first device to hit the market with Google TV, the company’s updated user interface for Android TV-powered devices. The Chromecast with Google TV offered users the best of both words — a limited amount of storage space to install apps that are most-commonly used, with the ability to use Google Cast for other, lesser-used apps that are installed on phones and tablets.
The Chromecast with Google TV retailed for $50, with support for UHD/4K video and high-dynamic range. Two years later, Google introduced a lower-cost version of the Chromecast with Google TV that retailed for $30 and included the same remote control, but with support only for HD video streams.
The Chromecast with Google TV is not the only option streamers have if they want Android TV-powered devices. Walmart’s in-house brand Onn offers two of its own devices — the Onn Android TV streaming box (retails for $20) and the premium Onn Android TV 4K Pro box (retails for around $50). Xperi, the brand behind TiVo, also makes a 4K-capable Android TV device called the TiVo Stream 4K, and Nvidia has long offered die-hard TV and gaming fans a premium line-up of Android TV streaming devices (which pack a serious punch and are not for the frugal at heart).
Google apparently believes the market is saturated with enough Android TV options, which is why the company is sunsetting its Chromecast line-up. The device made its mark, and now it’s time for something new.
That “something new” is the Google TV Streamer, a $100 device that doubles as a smart hub. In marketing materials released this week, along with interviews conducted with some news outlets, Google highlighted specific benefits of the Google TV Streamer — among them, a dedicated menu for smart home functionality, a remote finder button and personalized content recommendations powered by artificial intelligence.
None of those features are exclusive. Walmart’s Onn Android TV 4K Pro offers nearly all the same perks, but includes a backlit remote control and an on-board smart speaker for hands-free control of streaming TV and smart home items. And it costs just $50, leaving some to wonder what Google’s true ambitions are with the Google TV Streamer.
Whether Google TV Streamer is a success or failure will be up to the future. But it would not have been possible in the first place had the company not taken a leap of faith with the Chromecast, which was successful on its own merits.
Stores will continue selling the Chromecast with Google TV until their current inventory is depleted. The device is available to purchase at Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, Target, Lowe’s and Home Depot, among other stores.
