At Google’s September Event 2015 on Tuesday, the successors (yes, it’s more than one) to the original Chromecast were also announced. It’s plural because this time around, Google made a separate one just for audio.
The 2nd generation Chromecast for video is priced at the same US$ 35 (~RM 155) as the original when it first came out and it comes with a choice of 3 colours: Black, Lemonade, and Coral. The other Chromecast Audio is also priced at US$ 35 but only comes in Black. The devices are available for purchase now in 17 countries and Google is also throwing in some goodies to go with them. The devices come with 90 days of free music as well as one free movie rental from Google Play, free 1 month trial of CBS All Access, 3 months of free trial for Rhapsody, and a 30-day access to Crunchyroll Premium. Visit the offers page for more info and on how to redeem.
The new Chromecast comes with a new design that consists of the device itself and a HDMI connector that now dangles at the end of a connecting cable. Google explains that the decision to go with the cable, instead of the older dongle design, is to make it easier to plug into a TV with a cramped HDMI ports section. The device still uses Wi-Fi to stream but it now supports the latest IEEE 802.11ac standard that offers high quality video streaming with less buffering.
Gaming is another category that’s getting the Chromecast treatment. Users will now be able to experience multi-screen gaming by using the bigger screen of the TV as a display and turn their Android phones or their iPhones into the controller. Some of the games that are available with this feature are Just Dance Now, Catch Phrase Blitz, and Scrabble Blitz, while newer games such as Angry Birds Go!, WGT Golf, and Driver Speedboat Paradise are expected to be added soon.
The Chromecast device will also work as a screensaver for the TV screen with the backdrop feature. Images can come from services such as Flickr, Getty Images, 500px, or even from users’ own collections in Facebook and Google Photos. Besides that, users will also be able to present slideshows with images shared by friends and family with an updated Google Photos app that’s coming soon. With the update, users will be able to create a pool of images and videos of a particular event, and everyone who is added to the pool can also contribute their own images and videos to the pool.
Moving on to Chromecast Audio, this device is definitely going to ruffle some feathers, especially of those selling multi-room audio streaming services/equipments (such as Sonos, Bose, Samsung, and all those that support AirPlay). The device looks similar to the Chromecast for video but the audio one has grooves on the body to give it its vinyl-record look. Furthermore, instead of a HDMI cable, this Chromecast comes with a 3.5 mm audio cable, and it accepts audio input in three different ways: via RCA, 3.5 mm jack, or the digital optical socket.
The really low price (compared to other audio streaming speakers) and the ability to stream at Wi-Fi speeds are definitely going to be its selling points. Users now have an option to use their own audio equipments for streaming music, radio, and podcasts from cast-enabled apps such as Google Play Music (for those who have access), YouTube, Deezer, Pocket Casts, TuneIn Radio, and last but not least, Spotify. The last is definitely a highlight as it’s been missing for a long time from the Chromecast list. Users can now start streaming Spotify from their phones, and Chromecast will take over and continue playing it, even when users make/take calls, watch a video, play games on their phones. Impressively, Spotify with Chromecast is supposed to be able to keep going even after the phone goes dead. As for Google’s own Play Music service, there will be a new family plan in the US that’s supposed to come up later this year. It will be priced at US$ 14.99 a month and will allow up to 6 people to share the subscription.
Both devices work with Android, iOS, and laptops using Cast ready apps which work independently on their own. This made looking for content a little hard as each app had its own search feature. This will not be the case anymore with the Chromecast app. It can be used to manage, explore and even play all these content from a single point. In Google’s own words, the app serves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for exploring all that Chromecast has to offer. Users can also discover trending and popular content as provided by the individual apps themselves, find more cast-enabled apps, and use voice to search by movies, TV shows, or casts. The updated app is available now on Google Play and on App store.
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