Google's New Chromecast, Chromecast Audio May Launch Soon in India

When Google unveiled the refreshed Chromecast alongside the Chromecast Audio in September last year, the Mountain View giant was expected to bring the devices to India as well, as the first-generation Chromecast was already officially available in India. Seven months have passed however, and there's no update from Google on the availability of its new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio.

Now, in a glimmer of hope, Android Police reports that Google has finally refreshed its official hardware availability page adding countries including India and Taiwan to receive the new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio - this usually signals availability via the country-specific Google Store. Unfortunately, either Google has since updated the page, or the details are not visible in India, as at the time of writing the page only showed the old list.

Launched in September, the second-generation Chromecast saw a complete departure from the original's design. The all new design saw an HDMI cable looped inside a circular Chromecast logo-shaped unit. The company also upgraded the internal components to make the new Chromecast more capable and added three antennas inside the device. The device supported 5GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi for stutter-free high quality streaming. It comes with a new feature called "Fast Play," allowing the Chromecast to start a video or audio streaming much quicker to start, once users press the Cast button. Notably, Google maintained the same $35 price point as the original.

Google's Chromecast Audio streaming device, also priced at $35 (roughly Rs. 2,300), allows one to stream music to their regular speakers directly from a smartphone or laptop. Chromecast Audio is said to not compress audio, assuring the audiophile inside you that the device wouldn't compromise on audio quality. It works with Android and iOS devices, apart from PCs. The device supports high-quality audio, 2 watt RMS, and an optional optical digital out that sits in the hybrid port. It additionally includes a feature called guest access, allowing others to stream even if they are not connected to the user's Wi-Fi network.