We’ve been followingrumors about a Chromecast refreshfor quite some time, and now, we’ve got another one to throw on the pile:9to5Google reportsthat yet anothernew Google TV deviceidentifier has appeared in code for the Google Home app. It’s not a whole lot to go on, but it does show that Google is working on new Chromecast hardware insomecapacity.
More than a year ago, we reported ona similar story. Last January, in addition to the existing Chromecast models — referred to in the Google Home app’s code as YTV (4K) and YTB (1080p) — 9to5 uncovered an unannounced Chromecast device referred to as YTC. This latest hypothetical model is yet another distinct device, referred to as YTD. 9to5 says it “can confirm that Google Home treats YTD just like the existing Chromecast models.” An important distinction, as Google TV products from other manufacturers are evidently handled differently inside Google Home.
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This information tells us next to nothing about what type of product YTD actually is. We can take for granted it’s a Google TV device, but we don’t know what it’s for. The extra-budget $30 Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is only a couple of years old, and performs about as well as anyone could expect a low-cost 1080p streaming dongle to. Sub-4K streaming devices also make less and less sense as fewer and fewer 1080p TVs are sold each year.
On the other hand, Google TV enthusiasts (dozens of us, etc) have been clamoring for more high-powered options, as there’s not much in the Android space that evenly matches hardware like the $140 Fire TV Cube or the $130 Apple TV 4K. Nvidia’s Android TV-powered Shield TV boxes have the horsepower, but the newest models were released nearly five years ago and still don’t have the latest Google TV interface (though plenty of users would consider that a perk).
How to use Google TV
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Google’s 4K Chromecast with Google TV dongle is amongyour better optionsif you’re looking for an affordable Google TV device, but it comes with some grating flaws that have only gotten more annoying over time, low storage capacity chief among them. If I had to guess, I’d think Google’s next Chromecast device will be an outright replacement for that model — something with 4K, HDR, and Dolby Atmos support, with minor upgrades and an impulse buy(ish) price. But at this stage, that’s more wishful thinking than anything.
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