Google Is Killing the Chromecast in Favor of the Google TV Streamer

Google wants to bring AI out of your pocket and into the living room, and it’s making its own take on the Apple TV to do it. Today, the company announced the Google TV Streamer, a set top box that replaces the Chromecast while also being a Gemini-powered smart home hub. 

An oval-shaped wedge, the freestanding device is 6.4-inches long—not large, but certainly less of a space saver than a small puck that just hangs from the back of your TV. It’s meant to sit in front of your TV rather than behind it, and while you can probably mount it to the back of your screen with some well placed adhesives or zip ties, there’s no mounting equipment included in the box.

What you get with that bigger form factor is 32GB of storage space, 4GB of memory, enough power to run HDR streams at up to 4K@60 FPS, and an onboard thread radio for smart home integration. Like on higher-end Chromecasts, Dolby Vision and Atmos are also supported—and importantly, there’s more room for ports, meaning you can now connect an ethernet cable rather than relying on wifi or clunky adapters.

Credit: Google

The included remote also has a slight redesign that now offers voice control, but the real difference here is in the software.

Ditching the popular Chromecast brand for a set top experience is a bit of a risky move, and like many recent tech rebrands, there’s two letters that explain it all: AI. Beyond fresh new looks and visual fidelity, the Google TV Streamer also boasts what Google says is about 22% more processing power, which is just enough to bring a few Gemini experiences onto the big screen.

Did you want AI Overviews while watching House of the Dragon? Because you’re getting AI Overviews while watching House of the Dragon. When selecting a TV show on the Google TV Streamer, you’ll now get AI-generated boxes that summarize topics like “what’s it about,” “what people are saying,” and “what to know.” 

Credit: Google

There are also promises of AI-curated content suggestions, although Google hasn’t made it clear how those differ from the existing Google TV algorithm. A video advertising the Google TV Streamer shows a user asking for “movies that feel like a vacation” and being shown My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.

When in ambient mode, you’ll be able to generate AI screensavers using voice prompts on the remote. Or you can display pictures from your Google Photos, if you’d rather keep a foot in reality.

Credit: Google

Speaking of reality, the Google TV Streamer’s thread radio gives it Matter connectivity, but more importantly, access to the Google Home panel. From here, you can adjust connected smart lights or thermostats, or monitor connected smart cams. Like on Apple TV and Chromecast, you’ll be able to cast content to your Google TV streamer from your phone, as well as add it to speaker groups so you can play music from your TV.

The Google TV Streamer is up for pre-order now and starts shipping on September 24. It costs $99 and comes in porcelain (white) and hazel (gray), although hazel is a Google Store exclusive within the United States.

by Life Hacker