Five reasons to love the fifth-gen Chromecast

Chromecast launched its first Chromecast in 2013 with the aim of making it easy to get content from a user's phone to their TV.

With thousands of compatible apps to cast from, people are tapping the Cast button more than ever.

Since the release of the first Chromecast, the Made by Google family of products has continued to grow, bringing hardware, software, and AI together.

For the fifth year of Chromecast, launched today, Google product manager Jess Bonner has shared the top five reasons to be excited about the newest Chromecast:

1. Fits right in. With a new design and two colours - Chalk and Charcoal - Chromecast blends in with your decor and the rest of the Made by Google family.  
2. Stream hands-free. Chromecast and Google Home work seamlessly together. Just say what you want to watch from compatible services, like YouTube or Netflix, and control your TV by asking. Try, "Hey Google, play Lost in Space from Netflix." (You'll need a Netflix subscription to get started).   
3. Picture perfect at 60fps. The newest Chromecast supports streaming in 1080p at 60 frames per second, giving users a more lifelike image.  
4. More than a screen, it's a canvas. With Ambient Mode, users can personalise their TV with a constantly updating stream of the best and latest photos taken by users, friends and family from Google Photos. With new Live Albums from Google Photos, users can enjoy photos of people and pets they care about and skip blurry photos and duplicates without lifting a finger.  
5. An RRP of $69 So it's the perfect gift this upcoming holiday season for avid content streamers

The new Chromecast is available in New Zealand from the Google Store, Noel Leeming, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, The Warehouse and others starting today.