Google's Chromecast has been one of the most popular media streamers on the market for two years, thanks to its tiny design and $35 price tag. Google confirmed yesterday that sales have now topped 20 million.
Now it's getting replaced by two new $35 gadgets. The new Chromecast is rounder and more colorful than the original black key fob, while the Chromecast Audio is a different beast entirely. Let's compare the two, and the original Chromecast, and see which is the best pick for you.
The New Chromecast
The newest Chromecast (or Chromecast 2.0, if you prefer) is the predictably upgraded, redesigned version of the original Chromecast. It's a tiny HDMI dongle that plugs into the back of your HDTV (and separately into a USB port or wall adapter for power) and lets you stream media from your smartphone, tablet, or PC to your big screen.
Unlike the original Chromecast, which was shaped like a black USB drive, the new Chromecast is a round disc on a little cable. It's still tiny and unassuming, but now it's even easier to place (if you don't mind a small puck dangling from one of your HDMI ports). It's also available in black, coral (pink), and lemonade (yellow), though the color choice doesn't matter much when you consider it will be effectively invisible behind your HDTV.
Google says the new Chromecast has faster performance than the original, but this is a claim we'll have to test for ourselves. The Chromecast was already a simple, quick device thanks to its reliance on connected devices to control it and handle nearly all interface questions; it doesn't have an on-screen menu to feel quicker or more sluggish when you press buttons on a remote. It might load media from various services more quickly, but that's as dependent on network speed and stability as it is on the device's processing power.
Besides faster speed, the new Chromecast doesn't seem to have any new features or significant changes to make it compelling as an outright replacement for the original Chromecast. If your current Chromecast suits you just fine, you probably don't need to make the jump. Of course, that could change when we get the new version in for testing.
Chromecast Audio
The Chromecast Audio is, basically, exactly what it says on the tin: It's an audio Chromecast. Of course, since the main appeal of the Chromecast was to stream visual content to an HDTV, this means the Chromecast Audio is a wildly different device from the original and new Chromecasts. In fact, you don't connect it to an HDTV at all.
This audio-only Chromecast looks similar to the new Chromecast, in that it's basically just a tiny plastic puck. However, this puck plugs into your sound system instead of your HDTV. It can output sound to any speaker with a 3.5mm, stereo RCA, or optical audio input (though only a short 3.5mm patch cable is included). Once it's plugged into your speakers of choice and is connected to your home Wi-Fi network it's ready to wirelessly play any music you cast to it.
Since Chromecast Audio uses Wi-Fi, any mobile device connected to the same network can send sounds to the Chromecast Audio-connected speaker; no device pairing here. It also means that it's capable of streaming higher-quality audio to the connected speaker than Bluetooth, though Bluetooth technology has made some significant advances in the last few years that makes this less of an issue than it once was.
Since Chromecast Audio is audio-only, you might ask why you would ever want the Chromecast Audio instead of the regular Chromecast, which can connect to your HDTV. That answer is simple: the regular Chromecast doesn't output audio through any connection other than HDMI. You can do some speaker system juggling with your HDTV's optical audio output, but you can forget about streaming anything from a regular Chromecast to your old-school stereo system, or any standalone speakers. This is where the Chromecast Audio shines. It's intended to connect to speakers through three different wired connections, making it much more flexible to hook up to your sound system than the HDMI-equipped Chromecast. Both devices might have the same name, but they're intended for very different uses.
What About the Original Chromecast?
If you want to stream audio to your speakers, the Chromecast Audio is undoubtedly the better choice. If you want to stream videos to your HDTV, the difference isn't nearly as clear. Like we said before, Google claims that the new Chromecast is quicker, but it doesn't seem to offer anything the original Chromecast lacks. This might change when we test the new model, but for now you can probably stick with your original Chromecast, unless you really want a yellow or pink puck connected to the back of your screen.