Google Launches New Chromecast Dongle, Chromecast Audio in India

Google has launched its second-generation Chromecast dongle in India, alongside the new Chromecast Audio dongle, both priced at Rs. 3,399. The media-streaming dongles will be available from several online marketplaces including Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm, as well as retailers like Reliance and Croma. No exact availability was announced.

The company is offering a free Saavn Pro subscription and free Hooq subscription - 6 months each - with both dongles. To recall, the company had refreshed the Chromecast dongle and globally launched it with the new Chromecast Audio dongle September last year.

The second-generation Chromecast's design (seen above) is significantly different from the original's. The new dongle has an HDMI cable looped inside a circular Chromecast logo-shaped unit. Connectivity has also improved, with three onboard antennas and dual-band 5GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi for stutter-free high quality streaming. It comes with Fast Play, allowing the Chromecast to start a video or audio streaming much more quickly once the Cast button is pressed.

The new Chromecast dongle also enjoys the Feeds feature, which can be controlled via the Chromecast app, letting users choose what content the Chromecast will display on screen when on standby - from social media feeds to image feeds. Unlike the first generation Chromecast dongle, the new media streaming device will be available in three colours - Black, Red, and Yellow.

The Chromecast Audio dongle (seen above) lets users stream music to regular, dumb speakers without wireless connectivity directly from their smartphone or laptop. 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.

Google's Chromecast Audio dongle additionally includes a feature called guest access, allowing others to stream even if they are not connected to the user's Wi-Fi network.