9to5Google reports that Google is preparing a sequel to the Google Chromecast with Google TV. Last year, Google changed the top of the line Chromecast from a very basic video streaming device to a full-fledged Android streamer with installable apps, a navigational user interface, and a physical remote control. The move was effectively a merger between two Google TV products, Chromecast and Android TV, with updated Android TV-based software that was rebranded as Google TV.
Biggest problem with the current Chromecast? You really have to wonder if it was really designed from the ground up to run Android. The device only has 8 GB of storage for the entire OS, all your apps and updates. Even $100 Android phones now have 64GB of storage, and 8GB is not enough for even light app usage. Some Android games are over 10GB these days, so you can’t install them on a new Chromecast even before half the storage is reserved for the base OS.
However, Google’s own Chromecast with Google TV does not support AV1. There’s a good chance that Google will fix this issue with the new generation, as using an older codec just increases bandwidth costs, meaning Google is getting more money out of pocket. We can only guess when this device will be released. We may hear more about this at the Google I/O conference in May.