Chromecast Audio needs to make a comeback

The Chromecast with Google TV and Chromecast with Google TV (HD) were discontinued last year with the release of the Google TV Streamer. The two TV dongles were Google’s last products bearing the Chromecast name.

I don’t think the transition away from Chromecast-branded hardware was a bad move; the original Chromecast was released 12 years ago, and its name came from being a Chrome-based device that you could cast streaming video to from your phone. That doesn’t have a lot to do with the modern Google TV experience (though you can still cast video to Google TV hardware).

But while Google’s carried on making devices that fill the niche of those original Chromecast video streamers and then some, it’s never revisited one of its best hardware ideas: the Chromecast Audio.

The life and death of Chromecast Audio

The Chromecast Audio was released in 2015. If you don’t remember (fair enough, it was almost a decade ago), the Chromecast Audio was more or less the same as the first few HDMI Chromecast dongles, but for audio instead of video. It was a little puck with USB input and 3.5mm audio output that acted as a cast target for audio streams. You could plug it into any speaker with 3.5mm input to stream audio from sources like Spotify or Google Play Music (RIP).

At the time, the Chromecast Audio was a revelation. In 2015, smart speakers weren’t nearly as ubiquitous as they’d later become — the first-generation Amazon Echo hit store shelves in late 2014, and the original Google Home speaker wasn’t released until 2016. The Chromecast Audio didn’t make regular speakers into full-on smart speakers — you couldn’t talk to it; it only did audio output. But it added streaming smarts for all of 35 bucks, instantly bringing any old audio setup into the burgeoning streaming age.

The Chromecast Audio was eventually discontinued in early 2019. At that time, Google sold a variety of smart speakers: the first-generation Google Home, plus the smaller Google Home Mini; the big, premium Google Home Max; and the Google Home Hub smart display. There was also a growing ecosystem of Cast-enabled speakers available from third parties.

None of those devices filled the specific niche that the Chromecast Audio did, but they did all support streaming audio from all the same sources that worked with Chromecast Audio, and that was pretense enough for Google to kill its little audio dongle. “Our product portfolio continues to evolve, and now we have a variety of products for users to enjoy audio,” Google told TechCrunch in 2019. “We have therefore stopped manufacturing our Chromecast Audio products.”

Chromecast Audio devices are still functional, judging by the most recent reports I can find (from last year). You can even buy used units from sites like eBay. But the Chromecast Audio isn’t getting security updates anymore, and when it does eventually cease functioning, you won’t have any recourse. The Chromecast Audio isn’t quite dead, but it’s no longer being manufactured or sold in stores and it’s no longer supported, so it’s effectively there.

There aren’t any one-to-one alternatives

There’s no direct replacement for the Chromecast Audio. Following Google’s logic, if you want to stream audio through the Cast protocol today, you should pick up a speaker with Google Cast built in. There are plenty of decent options there — Google’s own Nest Audio is a fine little speaker, and you can regularly get a pair of them for $100 on sale. There are also third-party speakers with Cast support; units from Bose, JBL, and others all work with Google Cast. My Sony sound bar does, too. But all of these speakers cost way more than the Chromecast Audio did, and none of them let you graft streaming onto a non-connected speaker.

There’s no cheap, simple way to add streaming capabilities to regular “dumb” speakers these days. The fourth-gen Amazon Echo comes with 3.5mm output, but it retails for $100 (and probably won’t be an appealing option if you’re not in an Alexa household). WiiM makes receivers that support streaming through Cast, Alexa, or AirPlay, and I like them quite a bit — I reviewed the WiiM Pro a couple years ago, and I’ve been using it ever since to stream Spotify through my dumb JBL desk speakers. But the Pro costs $149 and isn’t nearly as simple as the Chromecast Audio: it’s got a bunch of I/O and buttons you might not want to futz with. It’s a lot bigger than the Chromecast Audio was, too.

If Google’s not going to make a new Chromecast Audio (and I have no reason to think it will), it could at least give us some new smart speakers. I like the Nest Audio, but as nice as it sounds for its compact size, it’s still a small speaker. Google doesn’t offer anything more powerful, either, since discontinuing the Google Home Max speaker in 2020.

WiiM’s streamers are a pricey but workable stand-in

If you’re trying to add streaming capabilities to a non-connected audio system today, WiiM’s streamers are probably your best bet. They’re not the same as the Chromecast Audio was: they’re bigger, more complicated, and more expensive, but they get the job done. The company’s most affordable offering, the WiiM Mini, supports audio streaming through AirPlay or Alexa, but not Google Cast. It costs $99. To get something that work’s with Google’s protocol, you’ll have to pony up $150 for the WiiM Pro.

In any case, I hope Google gets its audio act together soon. We’re about due for some updated smart speakers, and if we’re not going to get a new Chromecast Audio, I’m crossing my fingers that a new Nest Mini could at least have wired audio output. I can dream.