According to reports shared by 9to5Google, Google is planning to move away from its compact streaming dongles and will be releasing a tabletop streamer.
The upcoming device is expected to be called the 'Google TV Streamer' and is the follow-up to the Chromecast with Google TV. It also marks a general move away from the 'Chromecast' branding, so we will see if Google is abandoning this legacy naming in favour of using 'Google TV'.
Images shared with 9to5Google show a slanted, 'pill-shaped' unit with rounded edges in a smart white finish. It resembles an elongated reimagining of the Chromecast with Google TV dongle and doesn't look particularly tall, meaning it should fit neatly with most set-ups.
Along with the main streamer is a new remote, which matches in colour and general shape, much like the previous generation. Like before, a directional pad is at the top of the remote, followed by 'back' and 'home' in the row beneath. There are also the expected buttons for activating Google Assistant, volume control (no longer on the right-hand edge of the remote), mute, and shortcuts for Netflix and YouTube.
While it looks smart, how it performs technically matters most, so we eagerly anticipate this new Google streamer's potential arrival so we can get it in for testing. We gave the Google Chromecast with Google TV a five-star review followed by a What Hi-Fi? Award in 2023, so a new Google streamer has a high benchmark to reach.
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