Google Chrome Cast (3rd Generation)

• Wirelessly Stream & Mirror Content
• Up to 1080p/60 Hz Video Resolution
• Dual-Band 802.11ac Wi-Fi Connectivity
• Integrated HDMI Connector
• Control from Portable Devices
• Compact Circular Design
• Works with Google Assistant
• Browse through 70,000+ movies and TV Episodes.
• Works with Android and IOS

Design

If you’ve seen a Chromecast in the last few years, you probably know what to expect here – a small disc not more than two inches across that can covertly hide behind your TV. (The exact dimensions, in case you need them are 51.9 x 51.9 x 13.8 mm.)

There’s only a single MicroUSB port on the back of the disc that you’ll need to connect to either your TV’s USB port or to the wall using the included wall adapter, and a single button that will factory reset the Chromecast if held down. It’s basic, but it does the trick.

That being said, the latest Chromecast takes this simplicity further than ever before – extending subtlety to the plastic covering of the device: the 2nd Generation model was available in bright red, blue and yellow, while the 3rd Generation only comes in a nearly black, dark charcoal color and off-white chalk. The subtle palette swap is nice but, considering Chromecast spends all of its life behind your TV, it probably doesn’t matter that much.

What matters a bit more in terms of design is the flat HDMI cable that extends from the Chromecast – it’s long enough to slip into the port without interfering with any other cables and allows the Chromecast to hang a few inches off the TV. Similarly, the accompanying USB cord is 69 inches and can easily run to an outlet if your TV doesn’t have an open USB port.

The most important part of the Chromecast’s design, however, isn’t anything you can see on the outside. Inside, the Chromecast uses an upgraded 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi antenna that is likely the source of the 15% performance boost that Google’s touting – but we’ll cover that further down below.

 Setup and interface

For now let’s talk about the simplicity of setting up a Chromecast: Once it’s unboxed and plugged in, you’ll be asked to go to the app store on iOS or Android and download the Google Home app. Once installed, you’ll just need to tap ‘add new device’ and pick the Chromecast from list of devices waiting to be setup. Finally, once you’ve assigned a name and a room to the Chromecast, you’ll be ready to stream.

To stream from an app, you’ll need to find the Cast button that looks like a Wi-Fi network signal next to a TV. Press that, and you can send whatever you’re watching on your phone to the Chromecast. Surprisingly, you’re not actually streaming from your phone to your TV – Chromecast is picking up a link to that content and playing it all by itself. That means you’re free to use your phone for something else without impacting the stream in any way.

Interestingly, when you’re not actively streaming something to the Chromecast, it will enter a screensaver mode that displays curated images of Google’s own choosing. Those will change automatically over time and serve as a nice wallpaper when the Chromecast isn’t being used.

Speaking of use, one great feature of the Chromecast is that, once it’s setup, anyone in your house can use if you enable Guest Mode. That can be really handy if you’re having people over for a party and want them to have some control over the tunes, and it’s way easier than trying to keep track of a remote in a crowded room.

One last point worth mentioning here is that the Chromecast really plays nicely with Google’s series of smart speakers. If you have one, simply say things “OK Google, play the latest episode of Clueless Gamer on Chromecast” and having Conan O’Brien appear on your TV – which, admittedly, is pretty cool.

Performance

If you’re wondering what the difference is between the Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra is, it all comes down to performance. The former, reviewed here, is all about 1080p streaming while the latter can play native 4K content. That’s kind of a big deal if you have a 4K TV and want to see things in the highest possible fidelity. But if you can live without the added clarity, Chromecast still works with 4K TVs so don’t worry too much about it.

The same is true if you’re comparing the older 2nd Generation Chromecast with the newer 3rd Generation model – there’s about a 15% difference in speed between the old model and the new model, but in practice it’s almost imperceivable.

Speaking of performance, with the right connection speed, the Chromecast is seriously fast. Once we found a video, we were able to get it to stream and fully buffer within 20 seconds (videos start playing in low resolutions in under five seconds, but it took a bit longer to get up to the full 1080p on our 149Mbps connection). As long as your internet connection stays stable, you shouldn’t experience any buffering – we certainly didn’t – however it is certainly possible for that to happen if your connection is sporadic or if the Chromecast is too far away from your wireless router.

Speaking of wireless routers, currently the Chromecast only works over a wireless connection. The more expensive Chromecast Ultra has a built-in ethernet adapter that you can hardwire to your router, but that’s not something you’ll find here. So, if you need a hardwired connection because of connection issues, you might an upgrade.

Lastly, for those inclined to wonder about video and audio codecs, the new Chromecast supports H.264 1080p, H.264 720 x 480, MPEG-4, VP8 video and AAC-LC, AC3, eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/WAV, Vorbis audio files.