Google is quietly ending support for the decade-old Chromecast

Google ended support for the original Chromecast, about a decade after the launch of the $35 streaming stick in 2013. A message announcing the end of support appeared on several Google supports pages. “Chromecast (1st generation) support has ended,” the notification was brought to our attention by 9to5Google is reading. “These devices no longer receive software or security updates, and Google does not provide technical support for them. Users may notice a performance degradation.”

The end of support appears to have reached the end of April, when A.J Support page that lists firmware versions Each Chromecast model is last updated. It doesn’t look like the remaining first-gen Chromecasts will stop working right away, but it’s possible that their functionality will slowly break over time as the ecosystem around them updates and progresses.

The original Chromecast was a surprisingly small and popular device, about the size of a Switch designed to plug into the HDMI port on your TV and let you stream video content from your phone, tablet, or laptop to the big screen. At just $35, it was an affordable solution for getting video streaming apps on your TV in an era when not many people made the jump to smart TVs.

Google would go on to release several Chromecasts over the years including a 4K model in 2016. But the latest model, the 2020 Chromecast with Google TV has added its own remote control to the equation. The streaming stick has its own interface rather than simply relying on a content feed by your smartphone, marking a major shift in the Chromecast lineup.

Although support for the first generation Chromecast has officially ended, Google hasn’t exactly updated the device regularly. 9to5Google reports Its latest update was released last November, which itself was the first update to be released for the device in more than three years.