After several weeks of leaked product shots and FCC schematic filings by the broader tech press, Google has officially released key details about its new streaming gadget, the Google TV Streamer. 

Also read: The Chromecast Brand and the Dongle Form Factor Get Left Behind With New ‘Google TV Streamer’

It’s Google’s first product refresh since it debuted its $50 Chromecast with Google TV four years ago. And it’s a major one. 

The device will not only feature a wedge-shaped box form factor vs. the legacy HDMI dongle, it will also pack a more ambitious range of features into a package priced twice as high ($99.99) and starting Sept. 24 (with preorders starting Tuesday).

The Google TV Streamer will feature a more robust CPU, running 22% faster than the one in Chromecast with Google TV, as well as 32 gigabytes of storage, four times as much as the legacy gadget. 

There will be support for 4K HDR with Dolby Vision, in addition to Dolby Atmos sound.

Notable is the inclusion of a voice remote and Gemini AI tech in the gadget, giving the Google TV Streamer a leg up in the race to make search and recommendation more effective. 

For a decade, streaming services and gadget makers have been pledging to cut down on the time users spend looking for something to watch. As one of the elite tech makers in the fast-developing — and scary! — world of artificial intelligence, Google would seem to have a leg up on what could ultimately be a Holy Grail tech feature when someone finally gets it solved. 

Speaking to Next TV last week, Shalini Govil-Pai, VP and GM of Google TV, acknowledged that no one in the technology business has fully “gotten it right” yet in terms of search and recommendation. 

For its part, the Streamer will blend algorithmic science with "Gemini overviews," AI-fueled scourings of the internet that deliver essential programming info like plot synopsis, reviews aggregations, thematic appropriateness for kids, etc.

The AI tech also has other uses. For example, lots of connected TV devices make use of the modern low-power LED smart TV display to function as "always on" curators of family photos, classic paintings and other renderings. 

The Streamer lets users make suggestions into their voice remotes — on mashups of artistic classics, say — to come up with all sorts of crazy AI-based digital imagery. 

Also factoring into the Streamer’s agenda is integration into Google’s smart-home universe via inclusion of Threads radio hardware. 

The gadget can function as a central part of a smart-home environment, dimming lights and responding to smart doorbells. 

Ten years after its Chromecast created the market for cheap, easily accessible streaming HDMI dongles, Google said it will stop publishing firmware for the first generation of the connected TV device. 

"Support for Chromecast (1st gen) has ended, which means these devices no longer receive software or security updates, and Google does not provide technical support for them. Users may notice a degradation in performance," Google said on a support page that was updated on April 27. 

Google last updated the dongle's firmware back in November, and that was its first update in nearly three years. 

Chromecast was introduced back in 2013, a time when there are far fewer streaming-enabled smart TV's in the market. Described by CNET at the time as a "cheap and easy way to add streaming video and music to your TV, Chromecast had a $35 price point that was around $15 cheaper than the most popular CTV gadget on the market, Roku. 

Chromecast was the first HDMI dongle. The HD-capable gadget, which had only 512MB of RAM and 2GB of storage, didn't come with a remote, but rather relied on the user hosting apps like Netflix and YouTube on their smart phone or tablet. The image and sound was then "casted" to the device, which ported the signal through the HDMI connection and into the TV. 

By 2016, Google had shipped around 27 million Chromecast devices worldwide and owned 35% of the streaming gadget market, according to Strategy Analytics data. 

Google released subsequent iterations of Chromecast, including one in 2016 that came in the hockey puck configuration that's still around today, and which supported 4K. The most recent version, Chromecast With Google TV, was released in 2020. 

That version includes a remote and introduced the Google TV OS, which is now a top Google priority. 

Google is moving forward with development of a new Android TV-powered OTT device that will compete head on with Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV ecosystems, tech news site Protocol reports.

This latest news corroborates and (slightly) expands on another anonymously sourced article from 9to5 Google in March, outlining a device that would supersede Google’s Chromecast dongle, but would feature the same hardware configuration.

Related: Google Developing Android TV-based Chromecast with Its Own Remote: Report

The new device will likely carry branding from Google’s Nest home automation product line. Through Android TV, it will provide access to Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and most other OTT apps, as well as Google Assistant voice support. Protocol said the new device will enable content casting from mobile devices. And it will support Google’s Stadia cloud-based gaming service.

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Notably, the new device would include drilled down search and discovery surfacing features that would emphasize individual programs instead of the apps that include these programs.

Google is said to be anxious to compete with Roku and Amazon in a more direct way than can be achieved with its limited Chromecast, which is a device only for casting OTT apps on smart phones to the living room television.

But as Protocol points out, Google has a “strained” relationship with the third-party electronics makers who license Android TV for products like smart TVs. And building its own Android TV product line won’t sooth any of that irritation. With this in mind, Google will take pains to market its device “under a distinct brand, separating it from third-party streaming devices based on Android TV,” Protocol said.

The device could reportedly be available as soon as this summer.

Google has yet to officially comment or confirm any of this. 

Google is reportedly in development on a new version of its Chromecast streaming dongle that runs on Android TV and features a dedicated remote.

This is according to website 9to5 Google, which said it heard the news from a “source” familiar with Google’s plans. Also notable: Protocol reporter Janko Roettgers tweeted Wednesday an FCC filing for a remote control for an “unknown device.”

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The site said the device will have a form factor similar to the current Chromecast Ultra, which retails for $70. It will support 4K and HDR resolution standards, as well as Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. The device reportedly in development has a code name: “Sabrina.” That’s nice.

Chromecast was first introduced in 2013 as a simplified OTT solution—a small dongle that connects to the HDMI port of a display device. Users stream video from any source they are able to on their iOS or Android mobile device and “cast” the video to the Chromecast. The smart phone is the remote.

According to Parks Associates, Chromecast currently controls about 11% of the U.S. OTT device market, lagging far behind Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Current Chromecast iterations don’t run Android TV, Google’s software interface that provides users access to the Google Play store, and its vast selection of OTT apps, as well as Google Assistant voice support.

Android TV has become a popular solution for telecoms and other pay TV operators, which are looking to provide their subscribers with video services that cost-efficiently provide integrated access to popular OTT apps such as Netflix and YouTube, as well as nifty features like voice control.

Android TV, however, only has a small niche in the direct-to-consumer OTT device world. Android TV does power numerous smart TV models and OTT devices like Dish Network’s AirTV, but collectively, these devices occupy only a sliver of market share. 

What had been a wide-open market for OTT ecosystems just a few years ago is now a lot more decided.

Roku and Amazon Fire TV have increased their dominance over the U.S. streaming media player (SMP) market and now control nearly 70% of it, according to a Parks Associates ranking of the top OTT systems in the first quarter.

Market leader Roku controlled 39% of the installed base of SMPs at the end of Q1, according to Parks, representing narrow growth over the 37% in controlled in the first quarter of 2017.

No. 2 platform Amazon Fire TV controlled 30%, growing from 24% two years prior.

"The adoption of Roku and Fire TV streaming media players continues to grow at the expense of Chromecast and Apple TV,” said Parks Associates Senior Analyst Craig Leslie.

Related: Roku Will Soon Have 70% More OTT Devices in Global Streaming Market Than Next Closest Competitor

The race between Roku and Fire TV has been a bit subjective recently. Amazon recently announced 34 million regular users for its Fire TV platform worldwide, compared to 29 million announced by Roku at the end of the first quarter.

In May, research company The Diffusion Group said both platforms were about evenly distributed. But last month, another research company, Strategy Analytics, made a seemingly out-there declaration that Roku was the king of the OTT world, controlling 70% of the world’s connected video devices.

It does seem clear, however, that Roku and Fire TV are now the fundamental OTT platforms that video companies must develop apps for—as iOS and Android are in the mobile world.

Also notable from the new Parks study, titled “360 Deep Dive: Adoption and Use of Connected Video Devices,” as of Q1, 39% of U.S. broadband homes owned a SMP, which is only 1% growth in one year.

Such slight market growth has to be concerning for the myriad companies out there with new OTT launch plans. 

As streaming becomes more popular as a way to consume TV programming, Roku is increasing the number of homes in which its devices are used, according to a new report from Parks Associates.

In the first quarter, Roku's leading share of the streaming media player market in the U.S. grew to 37% from 30% a year ago.

The gain puts Roku further ahead of competitors including Amazon, Google and Apple.

"Roku emerged early as a U.S. market leader for streaming media players, and the company has held firmly to that position," said Glenn Hower, senior analyst at Parks Associates. "Higher-priced devices, such as the Apple TV, have not been able to keep up with low-priced and readily available Roku devices, which can be found at Walmart for as low as $29.99."

Amazon’s Fire TV increased it share to 24% from 16% in the quarter. Google’s Chromecast dropped to 18% and Apple TV fell to 15%, according to Parks.

“One-third of U.S. broadband households own a streaming media player," Hower said. "The growth of the U.S. OTT market provided consumers with unprecedented ease of access to video content. These streaming media devices make for quick and easy access to the top OTT libraries."

The Parks report, Reinventing CE: Transforming Devices to Service Platforms, looks at how the CE industry has migrated from producing and distributing hardware to distributing OTT content and leveraging advertising models.

Roku remained the top-selling streaming media player in 2015, accounting for 30% of the units purchased, according to new data from Parks Associates released in tandem with this week’s INTX confab in Boston.

Amazon, maker of the Fire TV box and Fire TV Stick, represented 22% of sales in 2015 (up from 16% in the prior year) as it rose to the number two slot, putting it in a virtual tie with Google, which makes the popular $35 Chromecast streaming adapter.  

Parks said the Apple TV trailed them with 20% of sales in 2015, but had the largest increase in unit sales on a year-over-year basis thanks to the Q4 2015 launch of its new apps-friendly platform. Apple’s share last year was 50% higher than its 2014 results, the research firm said.

Those four players – Roku, Amazon, Google and Apple – accounted for 94% of the streaming media players purchased last year, up from 86% in 2014.

“Thirty-six percent of U.S. broadband households have at least one streaming media player, up from 27% last year,” Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates, said in a statement. “Device makers have successfully sold streaming media players to consumers by offering easy access to a variety of content streams, as well as frequent updates that add the latest innovation. Amazon in particular has benefited by promoting its Fire TV devices in conjunction with the company’s Prime Video service as well as streams from HBO, Showtime, and other premium offerings.”

She noted that Roku and Amazon are benefiting from a strategy that centers on multiple form factors – boxes and streaming sticks – adding that streaming sticks accounted for 50% of all unit sales in 2015.

Kraus also estimated that about one-third of Roku sales were streaming sticks, and roughly 75% of Amazon sales were sticks.

“Apple and Roku were essentially tied for selling the most boxes, but Roku is expanding its base with the additional form factor,” Kraus said.

Parks estimates that 36% of U.S. broadband households have at least one streaming media player.

Looking ahead, Parks predicts that 86 million streaming media players will be sold globally in 2019. 

PlayStation Vue, Sony's subscription over-the-top video service for its gaming platform, is set to begin streaming on Amazon's Fire TV box and Fire TV Stick, with support for the Google Chromecast coming soon, the company said Wednesday (Nov. 12).

The deal with Amazon marks the first time the cloud-based service has been available on connected-TV devices other than Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 consoles. Sony had previously released a mobile iOS app-based version of the service for the iPhone and iPad. 

Expanding the service to the Fire platform opens it up to an even broader consumer audience, Sony said. Using Amazon's streaming devices enables PlayStation owners with an existing Vue subscription to access the service on additional TVs in the household without purchasing additional gaming consoles. 

The expansion closely follows a carriage deal Sony struck with Disney earlier this month that brings the full complement of Disney and ESPN Media networks to the service, including ESPN, Disney Channel and ABC Family, as well as ABC-owned local stations, filling what had been a sizeable gap in the Vue lineup

Both Vue's lineup of standalone channels available nationwide, such as Showtime, Epix Hits and Fox Soccer Plus, and its multichannel packages available in select markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Miami, will be available on the Fire devices.

In a limited-time holiday promotion starting on Nov. 15, new Vue customers in those markets who sign up for a free trial of PlayStation Vue's "Core" or "Elite" programming tiers will receive a free Amazon Fire TV Stick with their first month's paid subscription; Core is a package of sports channels, and Elite is an entertainment package.

Sony also has reduced the prices of those two tiers, another marketing move timed to the holidays; the new rates are available now to new subscribers, while current subscribers will receive the new pricing in their next billing cycle, the company said. The basic "Access" package of some 50 broadcast TV, movie and sports channels remains unchanged.

Later this year Sony will extend the service to the Google Chromecast via its PlayStation Vue Mobile app for iOS devices, which will bring the number of devices that can stream the service to seven (PS4, PS3, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, iPhone, iPad and Chromecast).

"Adding PlayStation Vue to these popular streaming devices is a great way to extend our pioneering cloud-based TV service to other TVs in the household and to reach new consumers who don't own PlayStation consoles," said Dan Myers, head of product for PlayStation Vue. "With the holiday season around the corner, now is the ideal time for us to expand PlayStation Vue access."