Google’s latest collaboration could soon replace its own Chromecast streaming device.
Variety reports that the tech giant is working with television manufacturer Vizio to develop new smart TV sets that allow users to stream video content from their mobile devices directly through the set without the need for any type of dongle or adapter, like Google’s (GOOGL) Chromecast. The line of smart TVs could hit the market as soon as this spring, according to Variety‘s exclusive report, which cites anonymous sources.
Coins2Day reached out to Google and Vizio for comment and will update this article with any response.
Google says it has sold 20 million units of the Chromecast in less than three years since it introduced the device, which competes with set-top boxes like Roku and Apple TV as well as products like the Amazon Fire TV Stick. Last fall, the company introduced the second-generation version of the device along with a streaming audio product called Chromecast Audio.
About five years ago Google tried to launch a smart TV platform called Google TV, which involved collaborating with Vizio on a set-top box, but that product line was later shut down. The company now has Android TV, which, unlike Chromecast and other casting devices, uses on-screen apps rather than streaming content from a mobile device.
According to Variety, as part of its current collaboration with Google, Vizio may offer customers a new Android-based tablet that would work as a kind of remote control that includes apps from various streaming services.