While Google may be phasing out the Chromecast in certain markets in favour of the TV Streamer, the tech giant is taking a different approach in other corners of the world.
The Google TV Streamer is currently available to buy in 19 countries, including the UK and US. However, Android Authority reports that certain regions won’t get this entertainment product at all. This includes India, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and possibly more APAC territories.
The reasoning was explained by Mike Abary, VP of Devices and Services for APAC at Google: “We evaluate the market and look at what are the opportunities, like, how big is the market, how proliferated have built-in streaming capabilities in actual televisions become.”
As competition is strong across the world of smart TVs in these regions (with many already offering Android OS built in), Google is not planning to release the media box in these places.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Fortunately, that doesn’t mean these countries will be without a Google streaming device. The article also confirmed that Chromecast with Google TV will not be discontinued here and will continue to be sold.
However, 9to5Google points out that it’s unclear if new stock of the Chromecast will be manufactured or, if once the devices sell out, they’ll be gone – which is what happened in North America and Europe. If it’s the latter, users in these territories will have to get the Chromecast via third-party retailers instead.
You can also read what we know about future software support for the Chromecast.