The likelihood that Google will unveil a low-cost Chromecast at its hardware presentation on October 6th is growing, and the Brazilian website Tecnoblog has shared alleged images of the device that it claims appeared in documents from the National Telecommunications Agency. The device resembles Google’s current Chromecast with Google TV in almost every way, except that leaks from earlier this week indicate that it will only be able to stream in 1080p rather than 4K and that it will be about 40% less expensive than the current model (which costs $50 but is currently on sale in the US for $40).
Model G454V is the moniker that appeared in an FCC file earlier this summer that described a device that connected directly to a TV, was operated by a remote, and could make use of both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The photographs published by Tecnoblog show the gadget with that label. It was describing a Chromecast, in other terms.
It may seem counterintuitive for a budget device, but the company recently admitted that its current streaming puck hasn’t been particularly fast or responsive and that managing its limited storage space can be a pain. This new leak doesn’t give us any idea of what the internals of the device will be like, but hopefully Google’s paid some attention to making it a bit more powerful than the current Chromecast with Google TV. If a new device was released with the same problems, it would be unfortunate.
While a new Chromecast isn’t on that list, it does seem likely that we’ll see it there, given that the device is at the stage where it’s being photographed and approved by regulators. Google said it would be showing off the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel Watch, and “additions to the Nest smart home portfolio” at its hardware event, which is scheduled for early next month.
