What you need to know
- Google is reportedly gearing up to launch a new Chromecast with Google TV 4K, which would replace the almost four-year-old model sold today.
- The company may address the streaming dongle’s performance woes with a new chip offering more RAM or storage and a potential OS upgrade.
- Additionally, Google appears to be working on a new Chromecast Voice Remote that could ship with the upcoming Chromecast with Google TV 4K refresh.
The streaming stick market has become a race to provide the best specs at the lowest prices, especially in the Google TV sector of the market. Google’s first Chromecast with Google TV 4K offered an Android-based OS, intuitive remote, and 4K resolution for just $50 when it was first released in 2020. Now that it’s going on four years old, the Chromecast with Google TV 4K is showing its age and could really use an upgrade. That might be finally coming soon.
According to a report from 9to5Google, a source confirmed that a Chromecast with Google TV 4K successor is in development, and the company is gearing up for a launch. Prior reports indicated that Google was working on an Android-equipped Chromecast device, but it wasn’t known for certain what functionality or price point it would target. The upcoming streaming dongle will be the first from Google since the Chromecast with Google TV HD was updated back in 2022.
While it’s likely the next-generation Chromecast with Google TV 4K will include a slew of improvements across the board, a point of focus looks to be the remote. Last year, a brand-new version of the Chromecast Voice Remote was spotted in an Android TV 14 beta. While the graphic inside the beta Android TV 14 release depicted a remote similar to the current Chromecast Voice remote, there were key differences. Notably, the new remote expected to ship with the Chromecast with Google TV 4K will have more dedicated buttons.
The current Chromecast with Google TV 4K still runs Android 12 TV, so the jump to Android 14 TV seems plausible. The operating system upgrade includes a few new software features that would improve usability without any hardware changes. However, it is also reasonable that Google would upgrade the aging chip found within the Chromecast with Google TV 4K that is sold today, which is the Amlogic S905X3.
This processor isn’t great, featuring just 2GB of memory and 8GB of storage. Processing power isn’t as important on a streaming dongle as it is on something like a smartphone, but RAM and on-device storage still matter. As such, a new chip could go a long way in making the Chromecast with Google TV 4K more enjoyable to use. 9to5Google suspects that the company may go with the Amlogic S905X5 processor, which is a two-generations-newer chip than the Amlogic S905X3 from four years ago.
We don’t know exactly when the next-generation 4K streaming dongle from Google will debut, but 9to5Google’s phrasing hints at an imminent release. Though Google I/O is only a few weeks away, it’s unlikely something like a Chromecast with Google TV 4K would be released at the event.