The rumored successor to Chromecast Ultra seems imminent, now that it has been teased in a developer preview for Android 11.
After searching the Android 11 preview file for Android TV, 9to5Google discovered a video showing the upcoming code-named media dongle Sabrina. Apparently, this successor to Chromecast Ultra will be part of the Made By Google range and will be the first Android TV device made by Google since the Nexus Player, the publication reported.
The video uncovered doesn’t offer a lot of information on the specs and capabilities of the Sabrina backpack. Rather, it simply details the reboot process, which involves disconnecting the streaming device from its power connection for three seconds.
However, the video somehow shows that the device will be seen as part of the previously leaked marketing material we’ve seen for Sabrina. It will sport an oval shape with a printed ‘G’ logo, making it look a bit like a smooth stone you can find on a beach. And it’s likely to come in soft white, black, and pink-orange, as we’ve seen in the leaked images.
From what we’ve seen so far, the Sabrina Chromecast will come with a neat remote with a circular navigation dial and a set of simple buttons, clearly in keeping with the simple, utilitarian aesthetic we’ve seen with Pixel 4. Apple TV has a Similar remote control with a circular touch-sensitive panel, but we hope that the Google remote has softer digit input recognition than the Apple TV remote.
We assume that Sabrina will support 4K resolutions, in addition to playing well with Google Stadia and other streaming services. But so far we don’t have much else to shoot.
The fact that Sabrina was mentioned in an Android 11 developer preview suggests that the new Chromecast device could be released alongside the full launch of Google’s new operating system. We expect Android 11 to debut sometime in August or early September. But it could also be launched with the Pixel 5, which currently looks like it will arrive in October.
