We asked, you told us: You still use a Chromecast (apparently)

Google’s Chromecast and the Cast protocol recently celebrated their tenth anniversary, and these are technologies that we practically take for granted today.

The dongle effectively gave basic TVs access to streaming video content and more, while the Cast protocol was what made the magic work. We looked back at the tech late last month, while also asking you whether you still used a Chromecast. Here’s what you told us.

Do you still use a Chromecast?

Results

This was quite a popular poll, as over 2,600 votes were cast. It turns out that a massive 81.2% of respondents indeed still use the Chromecast.

We’re not sure if all these respondents were referring to the basic Chromecast hardware, but we’re guessing that some of them were referring to the Chromecast with Google TV line and/or Cast capabilities in general.

Nevertheless, just 18.8% of surveyed readers said they’re not using a Chromecast. We’re guessing that the prevalence of smart TVs and streaming boxes has significantly reduced the need for both a Chromecast and Cast functionality. I can’t speak for everyone, but I still use Cast capabilities today as some streaming services simply don’t have Android TV apps.

Comments

• Phlebas: I think one of the main benefits of Chromecast and it’s cheap dongle competitors is the ability to extend the life of expensive smart TVs after the television manufacturers drop support for the inbuilt streaming apps. I recently lent my Chromecast to a friend whose eight year old television has become progressively dumber over the last year. He was on the verge of buying a new TV but instead has bought, and is happy with, the latest version of Chromecast.
• Beardednomad: I loved the Chromecast…until I got a Fire Stick and realized just how much more versatile it was. I do love the new Chromecast with Google TV though.
• Montisaquadeis: I have had a crap experience whenever I have tried to use a “chromecast” at all over the past decade. The “remote” will forget its casting and lose all control over what’s playing and what’s playing will be a stuttering mess as well so it’s unusable for me personally
• Patrick: This echoes my experiences with Chromecast. What used to be the backbone of my media setup is now only used to cast the odd app that doesn’t have a counterpart on my smart TV. The entire Home media ecosystem is in shambles.
• Shizuma: I cast frequently, not specifically only to Chromecasts, but in general to Nest speakers and Nvidia Shield TV, though I do still have 3 actively used actual Chromecasts, a regular Chromecast, a Chromecast with Google TV, and my most used one, Chromecast audio. I will say though in general having a Chromecast feature on a streaming box with a UI and remote like the Nvidia Shield is vastly better than the plain Chromecasts from the past, though I do wish they would bring back the Chromecast audio, to me that’s the most useful one and the one I wish I bought more of before the were discontinued.
• Charles Bright: Smart TVs pretty much killed chrome casts.
• Ricky Cash: I refuse to accept the Chromecast with Google TV being a Chromecast. It’s no more a Chromecast than the Nvidia Shield or Onn 2023 is. Chromecast is dead. Long live Chromecast.
• ikjadoon: I would’ve loved Chromecast Audio, but that basically died. Casting got so buggy or slow, so the sleekness was gone. Never had a good queuing system for family / party events. Tech reliability is like that: once something is not working 1 out of 10 times, it feels much less reliable than the numbers show. I still see a few them used in digital displays at offices or rental spaces, but otherwise, they’re just a few steps before e-waste. I do keep them around, though, in case I find a use.