The first of the decade-old gadget will no longer receive any software or security updates.
Google has decided to quietly end support for its original Chromecast, about ten years after the streaming stick’s initial launch in 2013.
The notification of the end of the support for the gadget appeared on a number of Google support pages.
“Support for Chromecast (1st gen) has ended,” said the notice about the original Chromecast’s end of support from Google. “These devices no longer receive software or security updates, and Google does not provide technical support for them. Users may notice a degradation in performance.”
It looks as though the end of the device’s support occurred at the close of April, when the firmware versions for each model of the gadget were last updated was listed on one of Google’s support pages. It doesn’t look as though the devices are expected to stop functioning right away. That said, it will become increasingly likely that they’ll become problematic over time, until they eventually will not work anymore.
The original Chromecast was popular in its day because of its convenience and affordability.
At only $35, the tiny key-sized device became quite popular. It was meant to be plugged into a TV’s HTMI port to allow content to be streamed there from a phone, tablet, or laptop. It was a convenient and affordable way to watch streaming apps on a bigger screen at a time when smart TVs weren’t really a thing.
A number of other models of the device have been launched over the years. This includes Google’s 4K model, which was released in 2016. However, the most recent 2020 Chromecast with Google TV model added its own remote, essentially making it a streaming stick. It also had its own interface instead of relying exclusively on the source device such as the phone or laptop. This latest shift was an important one in the product’s lineup.
Even though there won’t be any more support for the original Chromecast, it should be pointed out that Google hasn’t updated the gadget all that regularly anyway. The most recent update was issued in November 2022, and that was the first one to have been released for that model in more than three years.
