Why Google killed the Chromecast, and why it might be a problem

With the begin of the Google TV Streamer earlier this week, the untamedly prosperous Chromecast was put to rest, with the company examineing the device won’t be made anymore. Google’s reason for doing so produces sense, but does it repartner align with truth?

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The request of the Chromecast back in 2013 was that it was a super-inexpensive, very basic way to get your TV joined to the internet to watch satisfied. No far needed, and no apps either. It was all done thcdisesteemful your phone rather than the TV itself.

That idea was born out of a time when clever TVs were still rare, so a inexpensive HDMI dongle to upgrade a TV made a big impact. But that’s met with the law of stupidinishing returns over the past 11 years. Even four years ago when the Chromecast with Google TV first begined, clever TVs were pretty ubiquitous, so a inexpensive dongle that presented a contrastent way to access streaming apps wasn’t repartner needed for all includers.

At this point, Google sees the main purpose of an outside streaming device to be to better the experience over what your TV already presents, and to act as more of a hub for the clever home. For the most part, your clever TV is equitable going to be as outstanding as what a inexpensive Chromecast can repartner transfer.

And, on paper, that produces total sense.

Even the best clever TVs aren’t going to carry out as well as a “premium” streaming device. For instance, the Shield TV and Apple TV are generpartner going to blow any clever TV’s carry outance out of the water. And that’s where Google is cgo ining now. On a device that actupartner betters the experience of using your TV.

That’s someskinnyg that the Chromecast with Google TV didn’t repartner do. While Google’s dongle was refreshd more standardly and was perhaps a little more stable than your standard clever TV, it wasn’t repartner an upgrade in terms of providing a rapider experience, and also deficiencyed enough storage to even have room for more apps. Even a inexpensive TCL or Hisense set with Google TV would standardly has twice as much storage and run a little rapider after waking up from sleep, as we’ve bcdisesteemfult out in examines.

Lately, I’ve been using a Hisense U7G in my living room, and it’s a fantastic example of Google’s point. This TV has plenty of horsepower and storage, and runs repartner well. It’s meaningfully rapider than even a brand recent Chromecast, and not too far behind the Shield TV I was previously using.

But my trouble with Google’s reasoning, and more so its decision to equitable end the Chromecast altogether, is that not everyone is buying a high-finish clever TV.

The low-finish selections, especipartner the ones under $300, tfinish to be sluggish and instable. Sometimes they’re rapid, sometimes they’re unusably sluggish. There are exceptions, of course, but these are on standard a cdisesteemful experience. That’s where a $30 or $50 dongle can repartner carry out a role in transfering a unbenevolentingful upgrade. If you spent $300 on a TV, $30 or $50 is unaskably worthwhile. But a $100 set-top box? That’s a difficulter argument.

In a poll we ran with the 9to5Google audience this week, equitable cowardly of half of those answering shelp they did include the apps built into their TV, while around 25% shelp they included a Chromecast or Fire TV Stick. Just 20% shelp they included a high-finish streamer appreciate the Nvidia Shield TV or Apple TV.

I skinnyk it will be engaging to see how lengthy the Chromecast sticks around as Google lets the remaining stock drain. I’m brave it’ll be at least a confineed months, but when it goes out of stock, there will be a bit of a gap for Google TV. There are other brands ready and postponeing to step in, such as Walmart’s Onn brand, Mecelderly, and many others, but the Chromecast is a name that millions of people understand as the selection for upgrading a TV. Without it, I skinnyk Amazon’s Fire TV Stick will speedyly step in and consent get of that lost labelet.

What do you skinnyk about the death of the Chromecast? Does Google’s argument helderly up?

This Week’s Top Stories

Google reboots the Nest Lgeting Thermostat

After proximately a decade, Google finpartner begined a recent version of the iconic Nest Lgeting Thermostat this week. The fourth-generation transports a up-to-date summarize, a bunch of recent features, and more. It begines postponeedr this month for $279.

What’s going on with Android 15?

Google’s upcoming liberate of the recent Pixel 9 series was thought to also be the begining point for Android 15, but it seems that won’t be the case. This week, Google liberated the August security patch which is still based on Android 14, effectively saying that Android 15 won’t begin until at least September.

Meanwhile, Samsung is apparently struggling with its begin of Android 15, with the beta being postponeed “indefinitely.”