Google’s original Chromecast was a hit due to a few reasons including its cheap price tag, its ease of use, and the amount of third-party services it supports. The original went on sale for RM179 back then. Because of its webcasting technology that doesn’t require much processing power, it doesn’t really require a yearly hardware refresh. That’s probably why it took Google two years to finally announce and release a successor, the aptly-named Chromecast 2. We in Malaysia are always late to receive such gadgets, and almost a year after that announcement, we can finally buy the Google Chromecast 2 here in Malaysia, exclusively through Lazada for RM199. Not only that, you can also buy its other variant at Lazada — the Chromecast Audio — also for RM199.
The news of the Chromecast 2 release in Malaysia came on June 16th, 2016, but if memory serves, it was already on Lazada two weeks before that. It was also available on Expansys Malaysia as early as April 2016, but of course, that was a gray-imported model.
Chromecast 2 has a new design that looks like a hockey puck with the Google Chrome logo embossed at the center. The standard model has an HDMI cable sticking out from its side, while the Audio variant has a 3.5 mm audio socket on the side, with a supplied 3.5 mm audio jack. With Chromecast 2, you can push your favorite video streams from popular services like Google Play Movies/Music/TV, iflix, Netflix, Plex, Viki, YouTube, and even Spotify, directly to the TV or media receiver. Chromecast apps are available for Android and iOS. You can also push content from the Chrome browser using the Google Cast extension.
The new Chromecast 2 is said to offer a “wealth of fresh content” plus of course, the updated companion app on the smartphone. Since it’s a newer hardware, you can also expect a newer internal processor for a faster and smoother streaming experience, though the exact chipset wasn’t specified. The networking portion has been upgraded too, to now have a 802.11ac WiFi with dual-band support (2.4 and 5 GHz), which’ll ensure faster connectivity. However, the maximum video stream allowed on the new Chromecast 2 is still at 1080p, same as its predecessor. Chromecast also does Android mirroring, though that comes with a little bit of lag.
Chromecast Audio is also connected using a dual-band WiFi 802.11ac support. The only difference that may be a deal-breaker for most, is that it only has a 3.5 mm audio socket, meaning it only does audio. However this may appeal to audiophiles as they already have high-fidelity speaker systems and all they need is to make the speakers a little smarter by having the ability to push audio streams to them. Besides music, you can also push radio and podcast streams to the Chromecast Audio.
One caveat that is very important to note is that both Chromecast 2 and Chromecast Audio have to be powered by a micro-USB cable, just like the original. That is almost a non-issue for the Chromecast 2 because most modern TVs already have a USB port that you can plug into. As for the Chromecast Audio, there is a supplied power cable that you can make use of.
All things considered, Chromecast 2 still seems to be the superior device. If you’re able to let go of the fact that playing audio through the TV is an overkill, simply push an audio stream through the Chromecast 2 to the TV, and pipe the audio out to a proper speaker setup. Chromecast 2 also offers a one-year free iflix subscription worth RM96.
Again, the Lazada store page for Chromecast 2 is available here, and the Chromecast Audio, here.
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