Launched over two years ago, the first version of Chromecast with Google TV is showing its limitations on the performance side, with the functionality offered by the Google TV platform posing considerably more challenges than simply playing video content sent from your phone.
After first releasing a low-cost version for the Indian market, called Chromecast HD, Google is now trying to capture the attention of more discerning consumers by preparing a version of the device with more processing power, video resolutions and internal memory.
Problems seem to have arisen since the 2020 launch, with the replacement of the Cast OS platform with Android TV (renamed Google TV) opening up users to more powerful Android apps, but these can’t be accommodated in large numbers due to insufficient storage space. While the problem could easily have been solved by releasing a revision with more internal memory, Google insisted on keeping one version of the device, leaving consumers one more argument for upgrading to the next generation Chromecast.
Unfortunately, aside from being a replacement for the current flagship model, the specs of the next edition of Chromecast with Google TV aren’t known, but it’s plausible that the new hardware version will bring support for new video compression formats, faster access to Wi-Fi networks, and more display resolutions. What is certain is that the current generation Chromecast with Google TV also benefits from 4K display capabilities in HDR format at 60 frames per second, AV1 and H,265 decoding, and is compatible with any content distributed on video streaming platforms such as Netflix, YouTube or Amazon Prime. It is also compatible with the Dolby Vision HDR display standard.