As we can see, the leaked images clearly show the Chromecast departure from the existing “dongle” like form factor. The new Chromecast resembles a lollipop and yes it seems to come in bright colors. That being said, Google has not restricted itself to changes on the cosmetic front as it has come with a slew of changes from the inside as well. The documents does not seem to give away the exact specifications, but it surely does drop hints on the improved Wi-Fi, which in all likelihood points out at a support for 802.11ac band as opposed to the 802.11b/g/n bands supported by the current Chromecast. The new Chromecast will also bring a new content feed support which might bring up social media feeds, image feeds or any other notifications on the Chromecast screensaver “backdrop” mode. As of now, the backdrop mode supports widgets like weather and art and lets you use your own personal photo gallery. Another new feature is the “Fast Play”. This feature is presumed to help establish a faster connection after pressing the “Cast” button on a connected device. The connection niggles in the current Chromecast has always been its Achilles heels and the Fast Play feature might just solve that problem. Google is also planning to launch the Chromecast Audio as pointed out by the leaked documents and it seems that this new feature will allow Chromecast to be plugged in directly into any speaker via the auxiliary cord, which essentially means that the new Chromecast can be plugged in to your home theater and it will also have a multi room support. Just a few months ago we tried to explain why the Chromecast needs an update almost desperately, and the Chromcast 2 Gen might just be the answer for our question. The documents further revealed that the Chromecast is scheduled to be released on September 29, the same day when Google is going to pull the wraps from the two Nexus devices. On the pricing front, the new Chromecast is expected to be priced at par with the ongoing model and will be launched in at least 10 countries.
