Google Discontinues Chromecast Portfolio

Alphabet’s Google is ‘sunsettting’ another product, after the search engine giant confirmed a significant change to its streaming offering.

Majd Bakar, Google’s VP of Engineering at Health & Home, used a blog post on Tuesday to track the 11 year history of the Chromecast streaming dongle, in which it was confirmed that “we’re ending production of Chromecast, which will now only be available while supplies last.”

Google had launched its own Chromecast technology back in 2013 to compete with the arrival of smart televisions. The dongle was connected through a TV’s HDMI port and was compatible with Android-based devices, iPhones, iPads and Chrome for Mac and Windows.

Sunsetting Chromecast

Google’s Bakar in this week’s blog post confirmed that the firm had sold over 100 million devices over its 11 year run, but the “time has now come to evolve the smart TV streaming device category – primed for the new area of AI, entertainment and smart homes.”

“When we launched Chromecast, most TVs had few (if any) apps, streaming was unreliable and complicated and connecting your TV to your phone, tablet or laptop was clunky and hard,” noted Bakar. “Chromecast was our answer to this problem, a simple and affordable way to cast your favourite online content right on your TV screen. Chromecast’s small dongle form factor made it easy to hide behind a TV, and the affordable price made it accessible to millions and the perfect gift for many.”

But Bakar noted that since 2013 technology has evolved dramatically, and streaming and smart TVs abound.

“So we are taking the next step in evolving how streaming TV devices can add even more capabilities to your smart TV, built on top of the same Chromecast technology,” wrote Bakar.

“Today, we’re introducing Google TV Streamer, a more premium device built for the new era of entertainment and smart home needs,” said Bakar. “With Google TV Streamer, you can not only indulge your entertainment needs, but also have a hub for your whole smart home.”

The Google TV Streamer will cost $99.99 and is set to launch on 24 September. Instead of a dongle, it is a set-top box that could compete with the pricier Apple TV 4K.

Patent clash

Despite selling over 100 million Chromecast dongles, Google has had some setbacks,

In July 2023 a Texas court had ordered Google to pay $338.7 million (£264m) to Touchstream Technologies, over what it said were infringed patents in Google’s Chromecast service for streaming video from one device to another.

Touchstream had claimed its founder, David Strober, a former e-learning instructional systems designer at SUNY Westchester Community College, in 2010 had invented a means for video to be transmitted from a smaller device, such as a smartphone, to a larger one such as a television set.

In its 2021 lawsuit the firm had claimed it met with Google in December 2011 over a potential partnership but was told two months later that the tech giant wasn’t interested in its technology.

Google went on to launch its own Chromecast technology in 2013.

New York City-based Touchstream said Google copied its inventions and infringed three of its patents, US Patent Nos. 8,356,251; 8,782,528; and 8,904,289.

The firm claimed its patents are also infringed by Google’s Home and Nest smart devices and third-party televisions and speakers that include Chromecast features.

A federal jury at the Western District of Texas’s Waco division had unanimously agreed with Touchstream’s arguments.

Google at the time had stated its intention to appeal.