Google bids farewell to its audio dongle, Chromecast Audio

2 min read

Last week, Google decided to stop manufacturing its audio dongle, Chromecast Audio that allowed users to connect speakers to their Google cast setup since the company has a variety of new audio products for users.The remaining stock of the Chromecast Audio is being sold for $15 instead of $35.

The Chromecast Audio dongle is designed such that it could be plugged to a regular speaker via a 3.5 mm audio cable. The device works smoothly as it can get audio from plenty of apps at a louder volume without resorting to Bluetooth. In 2015, Chromecast Audio was launched along with the second-generation Chromecast. Over the years, the Chromecast Audio evolved and also featured multi-room support. Google will still support its Chromecast Audio users for the time being.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Google said, “Our product portfolio continues to evolve, and now we have a variety of products for users to enjoy audio. We have therefore stopped manufacturing our Chromecast Audio products. We will continue to offer assistance for Chromecast Audio devices, so users can continue to enjoy their music, podcasts and more.”

It seems Google is more inclined towards getting people to purchase its home products, Google Assistant or cast enabled speakers from its partners. Users are giving mixed reviews to this news. Few users are now scared to invest in Google products as they think, Google often cans its products. One of the users, commented on HackerNews, “Google is really developing reputation for starting and canning projects. I’d recommend not getting too invested in their products when possible.” Google has previously shut down a lot of services in recent years, with the latest one being the ‘Inbox’ which will shut in March, this year.

Users were also unhappy when Google decided to discontinue Google Reader in 2013. But this somewhere hints Google’s tendency of shutting down its popular products. One of the comments on HackerNews, reads, “Google Reader was damn useful and is a poster child of Google’s habit of hyping up useful products and then canning them.” Few users are still in support of Google and its decision. One of the users commented, “I don’t know who out there is heavily invested in a $35 audio dongle. I love mine, but it still works just as well today as it did yesterday and not being able to order more isn’t causing me any anxiety.”

Another user commented, “The 3-something year old hardware dongle is no longer being made, that’s it. That’s the entirety of the news. The Cast project as a whole is not being canned. Cast-enabled speakers, receivers, etc… are all still widely available from a wide number of manufacturers, that’s not changing.”