Google first introduced the Chromecast Audio back in September 2015, introducing a way to make a speaker ‘smart’. Now it looks like the end of the road with Google removing it from the store as Chromecast Audio comes to the new Chromecast.
Google has removed the Chromecast Audio from the Google Store leaving the new Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra as the sole remaining cast dongles in the store.
The removal comes as Google advises that the new Chromecast can now stream your favourite music from Spotify and YouTube through speakers connected to your TV, and you’ll soon be able to add these new speakers to speaker groups for multi-room audio.
The new Chromecast can not only stream music, it’s also a bit faster with Google advising they’ve improved hardware speed by 15 percent and it now supports streaming at 60fps at 1080p resolution for a more lifelike image.
It’s still just not quite the same though, with the Chromecast Audio dongle including support for 3.5mm and Optical audio, whereas the new Chromecast only has HDMI for connection to devices.
If you have some dumb speakers in your house and you want to add them to your smart home you should probably run out and grab one now – although if they’re being phased out you can likely expect some decent specials on the horizon from retailers as they try to divest themselves of stock.
Update: Looks like it could have been a glitch. As of this morning, the Chromecast Audio has re-appeared in the Australian Google Store online. So it appears there’s still life left in the old Chromecast Audio yet.
