It feels like Google is cooking up one other Google TV dongle. 9to5Google’s sources say a brand new 4K mannequin of the Chromecast with Google TV is within the works. It could be a sequel to the getting older 2020 mannequin that was by no means actually match for the job within the first place. It could additionally sit alongside the 2022 HD mannequin.
The report says the brand new machine would keep on the $50 value level and include a brand new distant. A brand new chip could be the first motivation for a brand new machine. The present 4K dongle has an Amlogic S905X3 (it is only for Cortex A55 CPUs), and if Google sticks with Amlogic, a superb improve could be the upcoming Amlogic S905X5. In addition to a quicker CPU and GPU, it additionally helps the AV1 video codec, one thing Google has been pushing throughout its ecosystem as a result of it will possibly minimize down on what have to be an unbelievable YouTube bandwidth invoice. It has made AV1 a requirement for some new units to be able to get the YouTube app, and regardless of forcing it on opponents like Roku, Google’s greatest dongle does not have {hardware} help for the codec but. Technically the S905X5 will not be official but, so we do not have a full spec sheet, however companions have been speaking about it since final 12 months.
The No. 1 factor a brand new Google TV dongle wants, and has wanted for years, is extra storage. Google {Hardware} is meant to make units which might be purpose-built for Google’s software program, however the 4K and HD Chromecasts with Google TV have by no means actually been as much as the duty because of the 8GB of complete machine storage. Again within the early Chromecast days when these dongles ran a customized OS and solely confirmed video streams, that was effective. These new units run full-fat Android now, full with a Play Retailer, entry to tens of millions of apps, and many preinstalled software program. 8GB will not be practically sufficient.
On the present Google TV dongles, solely about half of that 8GB of storage is user-accessible out of the field after the OS and different partitions suck it up, so there’s virtually no room for apps. Do not even take into consideration the potential for video games—the very talked-about Genchin Affect wants 20GB to put in. The most cost effective $100 Android telephones include not less than 32GB of storage now, and even that shall be a good squeeze for a lot of customers. The Chromecast’s non-existent storage lets Google promote these dongles for filth low-cost, however they’re additionally a horrible consumer expertise since something over the naked minimal of streaming apps will lead to “low storage” error messages.
The dearth of storage might be why the present Chromecast with Google TV fashions are caught on Android 12. There’s simply nowhere to place an enormous replace obtain once you ship a tool with such restricted storage. A brand new machine would presumably include Android 14 (or possibly even 15!) and would hopefully have area for updates this time.
