Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
Google is preparing a major update for the Chromecast with Google TV
- A Google product manager told us that the company plans to eventually bring Android 14 to the Chromecast with Google TV.
- However, we weren’t told when the update will roll out.
- Don’t expect Thread support to be added in the update, though, as it requires new hardware.
Although this week’s Made by Google event was all about the new Pixel devices, Google’s new Nest hardware was also on display at the event. That includes the new Google TV Streamer, Google’s latest TV streaming box that’s replacing the Chromecast. While the Chromecast with Google TV has been discontinued, Google will still be providing software updates for it, and Android Authority has learned that this will include an update to Android 14.
On the sidelines of the Made by Google event, we had the opportunity to speak to several Google TV product managers about the new Google TV Streamer. Since the Google TV Streamer is the first device in the US to run Android 14 for TVs, we had a lot of questions about the new software release. Specifically, we wanted to know whether there are any features in Android TV 14, which is how many people refer to the Android 14 for TV release, that won’t be available on other devices that receive the update.
The answer is yes: not every new feature in Android TV 14 will be available on other devices. An example they gave is the new Thread network stack that allows TVs to act as Thread border routers. Most existing devices don’t have a Thread radio, so even if they do upgrade to Android 14 for TV, they obviously won’t be able to act as a Thread border router.
A Google TV product manager we spoke to specifically highlighted how this would be the case for the Chromecast with Google TV. They said that even though eventually the team is going to upgrade the Chromecast with Google TV to Android 14, it won’t have the same Thread functionality as the new Google TV Streamer because it lacks the hardware.
Google bringing Android 14 to the Chromecast with Google TV shouldn’t really be surprising, given that the company pledged to continue providing software and security updates when they announced they were killing off the Chromecast brand. In fact, the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) is still slated to receive security updates until the end of September 2025, whereas the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is slated to receive updates until the end of September 2027.
The original Chromecast with Google TV (4K) shipped with Android TV 10 and later received an update to Android TV 12, whereas the HD model shipped with Android TV 12 out of the box. Android TV 14 would thus represent the second major OS upgrade for the 4K model and the first major upgrade for the HD model.
Google Assistant is wildly handy
Combines nearly every streaming service into one
Has a remote control
1080p Google TV experience
We don’t know when the Android TV 14 update will roll out for either Chromecast, only that they eventually will. We do know what new features the Android TV 14 update will bring, though, since it was already announced at Google I/O back in May and is now shipping on the Google TV Streamer and some Acer-branded TVs in India.