Today, Google announced its new streaming TV device, the Google TV Streamer. The set-top TV box is available for pre-order now for $99.99. With this launch, Google is also saying "Good bye" to its older Chromecast streaming TV dongles.
In a blog post, the company confirmed that it will no longer manufacture any Chromecast products. It will sell off any remaining inventory of those devices, but once the inventory is gone, that will be it for this family of products.
Google added that while there will be no more Chromecasts made, it will continue to support the Chromecast with Google TV devices with security updates. The support page for Nest products, which includes those streaming TV dongles, shows that the 4K version of Chromecast with Google TV will keep getting critical security updates until at least September 30, 2025, while the HD version of the device will receive security updates until at least September 22, 2027.
The first Chromecast was announced in June 2013 and was designed to allow users to "cast" apps like YouTube and others to their big-screen TVs. In 2020, Google decided to offer streaming TV apps via its Google TV operating system with the first Chromecast with Google TV dongle. It still provided users a way to cast their smartphone apps on a TV, but now users could also stream movies and TV shows with the connected dongle.
Google says that after 11 years since the first Chromecast, it has sold over 100 million of those devices. The company said it will continue to invest in adding Google Cast support to more TVs so that thousands of smartphone apps can be cast on the big screen.
However, with today"s reveal of the Google TV Streamer, it"s also the end of an era for Google"s more budget-friendly Chromecasts. It will be interesting to see how the more expensive Google TV Streamer does in the market.