Why Google Discontinued Chromecast and Why It Might Be a Problem

With the launch of the Google TV Streamer earlier this week, the era of the hugely successful Chromecast is over, as the company has confirmed that it will no longer be making the device. Google’s reasoning for doing so makes sense, but does it really match reality?

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The appeal of Chromecast in 2013 was that it was a very cheap and simple way to connect your TV to the internet to watch content. No remote control, no apps. Everything was done through your phone, not the TV itself.

The idea was born at a time when smart TVs were still uncommon, so a cheap HDMI dongle to upgrade your TV would have had a huge impact. But that’s been met with the law of diminishing returns over the past 11 years. Even four years ago when Chromecast first launched with Google TV, smart TVs were ubiquitous, so there wasn’t a real need for a cheap dongle that provided a different way to access streaming apps for all users.

At this point, Google sees the primary purpose of an external streaming device as enhancing the experience over what your TV already offers, and acting as more of a smart home hub. Most likely, your smart TV will be as good as what a really cheap Chromecast can offer.

On paper, this makes perfect sense.

Even the best smart TVs won’t perform as well as a “premium” streaming device. For example, the Shield TV and Apple TV are generally expected to outperform any other smart TV. And that’s what Google is focusing on now. On a device that actually improves the TV experience.

This is something that Chromecast with Google TV didn’t really do. While Google’s dongle was updated frequently and was perhaps a bit more stable than a regular smart TV, it wasn’t really an upgrade in terms of providing a faster experience, and it also lacked enough storage to make room for more apps. Even a cheap TCL or Hisense set with Google TV often had double the storage and booted up a bit faster after waking up from sleep, as we’ve noted in reviews.

Lately, I’ve been using Hisense U7G In my living room, it’s a great example of Google’s point of view. This TV has a lot of power, a lot of storage, and it works really well. It’s noticeably faster than the brand new Chromecast, and not far behind the Shield TV I used to use.

But what worries me about Google’s rationale, and especially its decision to kill Chromecast entirely, is that not everyone buys high-end smart TVs.

Low-cost options, especially those under $300, tend to be slow and inconsistent. Sometimes they’re fast, other times they’re unusable. There are exceptions, of course, but on average this is a tough experience. That’s where a $30 or $50 satellite receiver can play a significant role in providing a worthwhile upgrade. If you’re spending $300 on a TV, $30 or $50 is definitely worth it. But a $100 satellite receiver? That’s a tougher argument.

In a survey we conducted with 9 to 5 google In a CNN poll this week, nearly half of respondents said they used the apps built into their TVs, while about 25% said they used a Chromecast or Fire TV Stick. Just 20% said they used a high-end streaming device like the Nvidia Shield TV or Apple TV.

I think it will be interesting to see how long Chromecast will stick around while Google lets the remaining stock run down. I’m sure it will be at least a few months, but when stock runs out, there will be a small gap for Google TV. There are other brands ready and waiting to step in, like Walmart’s Onn brand, Mecool, and many others, but Chromecast is a name that millions of people know by name. the The option to upgrade your TV. Without it, I think Amazon’s Fire TV Stick will quickly step in and exploit this lost market.

What do you think about the death of Chromecast? Does Google’s argument hold up?

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