Chromecast Ultra announced: 4K video streaming, HDR and more for $69

As rumors suggested, Google took the wraps off of a slew of new devices at a launch event in San Francisco today. Apart from the two new Pixel smartphones, Google also introduced Google Home, an updated Google Wi-Fi router, and an upgraded HDMI dongle, dubbed Chromecast Ultra.

The Chromecast Ultra retains the look and feel of its predecessor, featuring a compact, puck-like design with a bendable HDMI cable attached to it. The only significant visual difference is in the fact that the Chrome logo is no longer seen on the device, with Google removing that in favor of a more subtle “G” branding.

Of course, the big news here is that the Chromecast Ultra now comes the ability to stream content at the 4K resolution and with HDR and Dolby Vision support, an upgrade from the Full HD resolution that its predecessor was limited to. 4K televisions, and content, is slowly becoming mainstream, and with competing devices from Amazon and Roku introducing this feature this year, it certainly makes sense on the part of Google to make the jump as well.

Easy access to 4K content is somewhat limited right now, but one move Google is making to change all that is the introduction of Ultra HD videos and movies to Google Play Movies & TV, with this content set to arrive in November.

There have also been improvements in terms of speed and reliability. Chromecast Ultra is 1.8 times faster as far as loading content is concerned, and there have been improvements in Wi-Fi to support streaming high resolution videos. There is also an ethernet port integrated into the device, if you don’t want to really entirely on Wi-Fi.

This upgrade does come at a price though, with the Chromecast Ultra, with a price point of $69, which is double what the 2015 edition of the Chromecast costs. The Chromecast Ultra will be available from November.

At the price point, if you have a 4K TV and easy access to ultra high resolution content, the Chromecast Ultra is certainly going to be worth every penny, but if that isn’t the case, you might be better off picking up its predecessor that is available for much cheaper.

What do you think of the updated Chromecast Ultra? Is it something you will be buying? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!