The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system.

Content can be mirrored to video models from the Google Chrome web browser on a personal computer or from the screen of some Android devices.

The first-generation Chromecast, a video streaming device, was announced on July 24, 2013, and made available for purchase on the same day in the United States for US$35 (equivalent to $45.78 in 2023).

[4] Bakar found the whole process inefficient and wanted to build a phone-based interface that would allow video to play on a large display through a small hardware device.

[5] After joining Google in 2011 to work on products that "would change how people used their TVs", Bakar pitched the idea for the Chromecast.

About 18 months later, Google introduced its Chromecast media-streaming devices, which were allegedly based on the technology demonstrated during those earlier meetings.

Video-capable Chromecasts plug into the HDMI port of a high-definition television or monitor, while the audio-only model outputs sound through its integrated 3.5 millimeter audio jack/mini-TOSLINK socket.

The second-generation model uses a Marvell Armada 1500 Mini Plus 88DE3006 SoC, which has dual ARM Cortex-A7 processors running at 1.2 GHz.

The unit contains an Avastar 88W8887 radio chip, which has improved Wi-Fi performance and supports the 802.11 ac wireless protocol and 5 GHz band, while containing three adaptive antennas for better connections to home routers.

[27] Chromecast Ultra is similar in design to the second-generation model, but features upgraded hardware that allows the streaming of 4K resolution content, as well as high-dynamic range (HDR) through the HDR10 and Dolby Vision formats.

The power supply also offers an Ethernet port for a wired connection to accommodate the fast network speeds needed to stream 4K content.

Chromecast product manager Rish Chandra said that Google used the intervening time to improve the SDK's reliability and accommodate those developers who sought a quick and easy way to cast a photo to a television without a lot of coding.

[67] Google has published case studies documenting Chromecast integration by Comedy Central, Just Dance Now, Haystack News and Fitnet.

[74] At the introductory press conference, Mario Queiroz, Google's VP of Product Management, said that the first-generation Chromecast ran "a simplified version of ChromeOS".

[75] Subsequently, a team of hackers reported that the device is "more Android than ChromeOS" and appears to be adapted from software that was embedded in the since-discontinued Google TV platform.

[80] Chromecast is managed through the Google Home app, which enables users to set up new devices and configure existing ones (such as specifying which "Ambient Mode" images are shown when no other content is cast).

To entice consumers, Google initially included a promotion for three months of access to Netflix at no cost with the purchase of a Chromecast.

"[104] Michael Gorman of Engadget gave the Chromecast an 84/100 score, writing, "it's a platform that's likely to improve dramatically as more apps start to support the technology."

"[105] Will Greenwald of PC Magazine rated it 4/5, saying, "The Google Chromecast is the least expensive way to access online services on your HDTV", although he noted that "The lack of local playback and limited Chrome integration holds it back in some respects.

"[108] David Katzmaier of CNET gave it a 7.9/10 score, calling the new hardware design more practical and praising the Chromecast app's search capabilities.

[112] Chris Welch of The Verge gave the Chromecast with Google TV an 8.5/10 score, calling it a "big success" that "checks off almost everything important" for a streaming device.

Welch praised the remote control and the Google TV interface's emphasis on content discovery, while noting some occasional sluggish performance.

He concluded that Google "reinvented the Chromecast as an excellent 4K streamer that's dramatically easier to use — turns out actual menus and a remote really do matter — without losing sight of what made the original great".

He lauded the remote control and user interface of Google TV, saying that it "feels just a bit more curated, polished, and tweaked to make the process of jumping back into your favorite shows and movies (or discovering new ones) that much faster".

[113] Eli Blumenthal of CNET gave the device a 9/10 score and described it as "the search giant's best TV effort yet and one of the best streamers you can buy, period".

Blumenthal also called the integration with Google Assistant the best part of the Chromecast, despite some quirks with search results for video content.

[115] Nick Pino of TechRadar rated the device four-and-a-half stars and called it "a revelation – it fixes something that wasn't broken, and improves a nearly perfect technology in a tangible way".

[132] In July 2015, Google signed a deal with the Television Academy to provide Chromecasts to Emmy Award voters to allow them to view screeners of nominated media.

[135] PC Magazine listed it as one of the "most iconic tech innovations" of the decade, saying, "Google made wireless streaming from mobile devices to the TV as simple as a few taps, all for $35.

[139] On July 24, 2023, a Texas jury found that Chromecast and other devices infringe patents owned by Touchstream Technologies related to streaming videos from one screen to another.