Google's rumored Sept. 29 event will reportedly include the launch of a second-generation Chromecast.
According to 9to5Google, which got its hands on some internal documents that spilled Google's plans, the new Chromecast will look a lot different from the original Chromecast, which resembles a USB key than anything else. The photos are blurry, but it appears that Chromecast II will have a big, fat, circular design—a hockey puck-like device with a dongle attached.
The images also suggest at least three color options: lime green, black, and red.
The "new Chromecast," as it's referred to in some of these Google documents, will support some kind of faster Wi-Fi than the first-generation device. Though could mean Google is bumping the Chromecast up to wireless-ac, giving it an extra spatial stream to work with on wireless-n, or even adding the ability to connect to 5GHz networks.
Google's second-generation Chromecast will also allow users to add content feeds to the device's home screen. It's also unclear just what that means—dump a Facebook News Feed as a widget, or maybe even a Twitter stream? However Google plans to do it, the move would at least give Chromecast owners a bit more personalization for their devices. Right now, you're basically limited to a glorified screensaver-like series of images, art, or weather updates.
A new "Fast Play" feature, meanwhile, is also in the works, but we also don't know what it actually does just yet. 9to5Google speculated that it might have something to do with speeding up the process of getting other devices paired with the Chromecast and playing media. If you've ever waited for your Chromecast to pair to a friend's smartphone, you (and your friend) will likely welcome the upgrade.
Google is also planning to integrate some kind of Chromecast Audio feature into its new device. Presumably, you could then plug a speaker directly into the Chromecast itself, which would then transform any boring speaker around your house into a device to which you can stream music. This, in conjunction with a reported Spotify support for the original Chromecast, should please streaming music fans quite a bit.
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