Google announced to the world yesterday the release of their new Google Chromecast with Google TV HD device, now in retail stores, for sale online at the Google Store and even on Amazon. Google decided not to wait to make their presentation on October 6 during the Made by Google launch event and to release the new Chromecast media player in advance. In fact, hints of the imminent launch of the device were circulating at the beginning of the month, so this announcement did not come as much of a surprise.
The new Google Chromecast with Google TV HD is a more affordable alternative to the original 4K version of the device launched two years ago. Launching at the cost of $30 (US) / $40 (CA), it's even cheaper than the original Chromecast, which came out ten years ago and immediately became very popular for users, even if they had to use their smart phone to control it. The new Chromecast adopts the same design of its 2020 predecessor, including the remote control with voice search, but sacrificing support for Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos. Its streaming capabilities are also limited to 1080p HDR at up to 60fps, just as the "HD" in it's (still very long) name suggests.
The small form factor of new Google Chromecast with Google TV HD, very familiar from it's original counterpart, is ideal to hide behind the TV, yet still provides access to over 10,000 apps, including the biggest streamers like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and many others. Fans of the Google TV device also seem to prefer its interface over the competing Fire TV, Roku OS, and even Apple tvOS.
Compared to devices from competing entry level products from Amazon and Roku players maxing out at 1080p, the Google Chromecast with Google TV HD is a great budget option for those who don't have a 4K TV or are looking for a smart TV solution on a spare TV in the home.
While the original Google Chromecast with Google 4K is available in multiple colors, Sky (blue), Sunrise (pink), and Snow (white), the HD version is only in Snow at launch. Although The Chromecast with Google TV HD is powered by an Amlogic S805X2 chipset with 1.5GB of RAM (slightly less than the 2GB of RAM on its predecessor), it still only has 8GB of onboard storage like the 4K model, quite underwhelming for the plethora of streaming apps that are available nowadays, there's only about 4.4 GB of usable storage, with the Google TV operating system hoarding the rest. (Personally, Google needs to seriously think about a model update with 16 GB and/or micro-SD expansion-- seems like a no-brainer to me...)
Out of the box, Google Chromecast with Google TV HD will be pre-installed with Android 12 OS, while the Chromecast 4K model is still running Android 10 (Google is promising its owners an update “soon”). -Georges Brunet
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