Why Chromecast is the most interesting of Google’s new products

For the past several years, two of the most popular products around the holidays have been low-cost streaming devices from Amazon and Roku, often discounted by around $ 25 for year-end sales.

And often left out of the party was Google, which first launched its own unit in 2013, the Chromecast, which initially retailed for $ 35, a product aimed at first-time users and serious tech nerds.

That’s why Google’s announcement on Wednesday of a new $ 49.99 Chromecast (available October 15) was arguably the most interesting of its presentation, and the one most likely to end up in the homes of the most consumers. Also announced were two new smartphones ($ 499 and $ 699) and a redesigned Google Home smart speaker with better sound, which retails for $ 99.

With the new Chromecast, Google can now compete in streaming effectively on the same playing field as Amazon and Roku, which each have 40 million customers for their streaming services.

The original Chromecast was a niche product. Unlike the Roku and Amazon Fire TV Stick, which plug into the back of the TV and produce a menu of streaming options, the Chromecast also plugs into the TV, but requires a phone or tablet to find the shows and “cast” them. from the handheld to the screen.

The mass consumer prefers a traditional menu and remote-control-based system, says Bret Kinsella, editor of the Voicebot.ai website, which covers voice computing.

The new Chromecast is like a Fire TV Stick or a Roku streamer in that it also connects to the TV and will now offer menus of available streaming programs and apps to watch (via what Google calls Google TV) and will use search for Google to determine what you may want to see. And it’s going to great lengths to get consumers to use Google search as a vehicle to find shows, too.

“Find your next favorite based on your subscriptions, viewing history, and content you own,” says Google.

Amazon knows your purchase history, Roku knows what you like to watch, but Google knows where you live, where you travel, what YouTube clips you watch, what music you listen to, and more. That’s creepy, or if you’re willing to go all out on Google and let it track your every move, potentially helpful with better recommendations for what to watch on TV.

And then there is voice search.

Both Amazon (with its personal assistant Alexa) and Roku (via its own search) offer voice search via a button on their remotes, but Google could have the upper hand here to get more consumers used to remote by voice.

The Assistant consistently earns praise in surveys for having the most reliable and accurate voice search. Like the others, voice search is activated by a button on the new Chromecast remote.

However, Google will face the challenge of finding consumers who need another streaming device, says Stephen Baker, an analyst at market tracker NPD Group.

During the start of the pandemic, streaming device sales really took off, says Baker, an analyst at the NPD Group market tracker, but as a category, he’s started to see “fatigue” in consumers. “Many newer televisions come with built-in streaming,” he says. “Many consumers will just buy a new television.”

The two new Pixel phones, the 4A (with 5G) and the Pixel 5, connect to the newer faster 5G wireless networks and start at $ 499 and $ 699, while the redesigned Google Home speaker is now called Nest Audio.

What didn’t Google talk about their Launch Night In event? Many products that could have been upgraded didn’t get their due, Kinsella notes, including an upgraded Nest thermostat or doorbell products, a new Hub video display unit, or anything else from the smart home category, which Google traditionally pushes hard. .

At the 2019 event, Google unveiled the Pixel 4 smartphone, an update to its Wi-Fi mesh system, the Pixelbook Go Chromebook computer, wireless headphones, and a launch date for the Stadia video game service.

Apple is expected to present the next big product reveal later this month to showcase the new editions of the iPhone.

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