The Chromecast is a miracle tiny device, slightly bigger than a USD flash drive that can do great things. Launched in 2013, the $35 dongle transforms any TV with an HDMI port in a fully featured Smart TV, allowing you to stream content from your phone to the big screen. The device is 2 years old now and rumors indicate Google is about to unveil a second-generation Chromecast very soon. As expected, the company didn’t make any comment on the subject, but leaks here and there are giving us clues of what might be a new screencasting device from the search giant. Recently, we have seen some FCC filings for Wi-Fi powered and media streaming devices, and today another one showed up in the U.S. communication regulator’s website.
The gadget has an ID code of A4RRUX-J42 and is described as a “media streaming” device supporting both the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol as well as 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, meaning faster network speeds. This could be almost anything, of course. However, as highlighted by Liliputing, the original Chromecast ID code on FCC was “H2G2-42”, an easter egg referencing Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Since Google is an easter eggs-master, the number “42” at the end of the new code may have some meaning, who knows. Alongside a better hardware, the new 2nd-generation Chromecast is believed to come in a completely refreshed visual and feature new software tweaks such as the ability to include custom content feeds. The company is also believed to unveil a “Chromecast Audio” that will allow the user to stream songs to any speaker connected to it via a regular AUX cable, and even combining multiple Audio with speakers all over the place. This device also showed up on FCC with the ID code “A4RNC2-6A5” and has the same description as the one previously mentioned.
All our curiosity will end soon, though, since Google will be holding an event on September 29th. The company is also expected to unveil two new Nexus smartphones, the Huawei Nexus 6P made by the Chinese manufacturer and the LG Nexus 5X, coming from the Korean giant. The launch date is right around the corner and in just a week we will all know what Google has in the drawer for us.