But it could introduce other issues by shipping it with just 1.5GB of RAM
At this point, it is no secret that Google is working on a cheaper new Chromecast. Rumors about the device first popped up at the beginning of this year, which is due to launch soon. The budget Chromecast would seemingly run Android 12 and support streaming content at Full HD resolution. The stick has already passed through the FCC, shown up in photos, and had its European price leaked. Now, developer Kuba Wojciechowski claims to have gotten his hands on an internal firmware of the streaming stick, revealing some of its key specs.
Wojciechowski believes the July build he has obtained will likely come pre-installed on the device. It refers to the streaming stick as “Chromecast HD,” which could be its final marketing name. The firmware is based on Android 12 with Google TV on top. For comparison, the current Chromecast with Google TV runs on Android 10. The firmware confirms the stick will feature Amlogic’s S805X2 CPU with AV1 decoding. This will be paired with 1.5GB RAM, a downgrade from the 2GB RAM found on the 4K model. The lower RAM does not bode well from a performance standpoint despite Google recently rolling out some CPU and RAM optimizations for the existing Chromecast.
The big G’s latest GMS guidelines state that any device running Android 13 should have 2GB RAM and 16GB storage to access the Google Play suite of apps and services. Since the upcoming Chromecast HD will not meet the requirements, it is unlikely to receive the Android 13 update.
For Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, Chromecast HD would apparently rely on the NXP 88W8987 chipset, which supports dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2. There’s also a diagram of the remote in the firmware that looks similar to the 4K model’s Bluetooth remote.
More importantly, the firmware points to the Chromecast HD supporting A/B virtual partitions for seamless updates. Thanks to this, the device won’t have to download any updates to /storage. Instead, they will be directly streamed to one of the virtual partitions. So, you will be able to install the latest update on the streaming stick even if it does not have enough free space. This has been a major issue with the current Chromecast with Google TV, but the company is seemingly going to address this on the cheaper model.
Google will most likely announce the Chromecast HD at its upcoming Pixel hardware event on October 6th.
