The new Google Chromecast may be unveiled and released on October 9th. A poster on Reddit was able to get a copy at an early price from American electronics chain Best Buy, where he was told that the player was only allowed to be sold from that date.
The date given by Best Buy corresponds to the date on which Google was ‘I <3 NY’ event holds. The Pixel 3 is expected to be unveiled here, but the incident at Best Buy suggests that the tech giant will also review the latest version of its media player.
Unfortunately, Reddit user GroveStreetHomie could not say much about the device. It is a bit thicker, the surface of the housing is matte instead of shiny and the micro-USB connection is still present. When he wanted to take the device into use, he was told that he had to update the Google Home app on his Android device, but it had already been updated.
The price was the same as for the second-generation Chromecast, but unclear is whether that will actually be the case or that it is because the cashier has struck the device under the old generation. In other photos from another Reddit user, it can be seen that the sku at the Best Buy shelf card is 4397400, a number that leads to the old Chromecast. On the box is just GA00439-US.
From earlier released FCC documentation we already know that the new Chromecast should get better 5GHz WiFi by a small adaptation to the antenna. This would increase the maximum gain of the antenna reception from 2.1 dBi to 4 dBi. In addition, full Bluetooth support would also be added.
