Chromecast 2 vs Chromecast 1

Last year Google announced their new Chromecast 2. An upgraded version to their first Chromecast back in 2013, with a new design and improved performance, but it is worth to buy the new generation 2 version?
Well, I was wondering the same and decided to find out, so I bought a new Chromecast generation 2 to test it for myself.

Chromecast 1

Let’s start with the original Chromecast. Google announced their 1st generation of Chromecast back in 2013 and it was a need little device for the price. Only 39 g in weight and it will be powered from an available USB port in your TV. According to Wikipedia Google has sold more than 20 million Chromecast devices worldwide. If you don’t know what a Chromecast is, I wrote post about that a while ago here on my blog.

What is new in Chromecast 2?

So, what is up with the new Chromecast v2? Why should you upgrade if you already have the first version? First of all, it has a brand new design and the new version is available in 3 different colors: Lemonade, Coral and black (Lemonade and Coral only available from the Google Store). The color might not be that important I guess. After all it is going to be behind the TV all the time. However, the new design makes it easier to fit in the back of most TV’s due to the HDMI cable design. Another new thing about the new generation 2 is improved Wi-Fi performance and offers support for 802.11 ac and 5 GHz bands. The new design has also made room for three adaptive antennae inside for better Wi-Fi connection. Another improvement over generation 1 is improved software in the device that should make buffering faster and more smooth. making video streaming start faster. Another new feature in the software is called Fast Play. Fast Play will try to predict what you are going to watch next and start pre-caching video before you even click on them. That is very smart if you are watching YouTube or maybe have a YouTube playlist running.

Chromecast Audio

At the same time Google announced their next generation of Chromecast, they also released a new Casting devices called Chromecast Audio. Chromecast Audio is designed for music lovers who wants to stream audio to their speakers or Hi-Fi systems using an AUX input port. I will not go in details with Chromecast audio, just wanted you to know that it exists. Make sure that you pick the device that fits your need for either video or music streaming.

Installation of Chromecast 2

Configuring Chromecast 2 was for me a walk in the park. I plugged it in to my TV (HDMI and USB) and turned on the TV. Then switch to HDMI2 on my TV remote and started the Chromecast app on my Nexus 9 tablet. All you need to tell the apps, is name and password for your Wi-Fi and the name you want on your Chromecast to have. In a few minutes you will be ready to Cast.

Final conclusion

So, was it worth buying the new generation 2 of Google Chromecast? Well, no doubt that the new Chromecast is a lot faster than the old one, when it comes to starting and caching videos. Other than that and the new design, not much is new. Google could have put in some extra features doing it more attractive to upgrade to the new version if you ask me. It is still a great little device for the money, but it might not be worth upgrading, if you already have the first generation of Google Chromecast. If you don’t already have a Chromecast it is for sure a great device for the money.