Chromecast with Google TV (HD) was introduced last September, offering 1080p, HDR, 8GB storage for $29.99. This version of the more affordable Chromecast with Google TV (HD) got Android 12, so Google promised the more ambitious Chromecast with Google TV (4K) would also get an update, and the news is that it is finally available.
All this happens nine years after Google launched Chromecast. Since the 2013 launch the company introduced three generations of the original Chromecast, plus Chromecast Ultra for 4K and HDR support. In 2020, Google took its “biggest leap yet” with the introduction of Chromecast with Google TV (4K).
The original Chromecast was a $35 dongle that made it easy and inexpensive to bring your online entertainment to your TV. In 2013, you could use your phone, tablet or laptop with Chromecast to browse and cast content to your TV, play and pause, control the volume and more. Chromecast brought a broad range of content to your big screen, from sharing your family photos to enjoying a video clip for your favorite news site with the press of a button.
Launched with just a handful of partners, Chromecast has grown, according to the company, to offer 10,000+ apps to choose from with Google TV, from HBO Max and Disney+ to Prime Video, and Google continues to add new content all the time. And with more content choices than ever before, Chromecast with Google TV is the home for your entertainment, bringing together movies, shows, live TV and more so you can find what to watch without jumping from app to app. Surprisingly, Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is just $29.99 in the US, making it even more affordable than the original Chromecast.
Chromecast with Google TV (4K), introduced in 2020, is more expensive, close to $50.00, but it brings another level of quality and functions. Users on reddit were quick to share the information that a new version of the software was available… and voice the good and bad things they discovered once they run the update.
The update made available mid-October — build number STTE.220621.019.A2.9082754 — is a 722MB system file that upgrades Android TV OS from 10 to 12, also updating the security patch from May 2022 to a version from July 2022, and offering new improvements and features, some of them requested by users.
The full release notes for Chromecast with Google TV (4K) highlights:
- Upgrading Android TV OS from 10 to 12
- Additional user settings allow you to control HDR format and surround sound
- New! Match content frame rate allows you to switch between refresh rates
- Increased security and privacy
- New camera and microphone protection buttons allow you to disable or enable camera/microphone access for all apps
- The Android security patch level has been updated to July 2022
- Other bug fixes and performance improvements
In terms of privacy, the camera and microphone buttons that “let you disable or enable camera/microphone access for all apps,” now implemented was something users requested. Google also highlights the “additional user settings allow you to control HDR format and surround sound”, but the absolutely new “match content frame rate” may be the most requested feature now introduced, as it allows for the system to match the content frame rate of a TV show or movie streaming on a service. This is especially important – if it works as suggested – for those who want to watch a 24fps classic movie and have Chromecast match its video output to the frame rate of the original content.