Google can't seem to make up its mind. After renaming Chromecast to Google Cast last March, it is now bringing the old name back.
Google Cast vs. Chromecast
As the world knows by now, Chromecast is Google's streaming hardware. It is currently the one of the company's most popular products, so it is understandably receiving a lot of Google attention so that even its labeling receives organizational scrutiny.
Now, Google has been calling the Chromecast APIs for developers as Google Cast. To establish branding consistency, the company began renaming the Chromecast ecosystem according to it. So what this meant was that third-party devices and softwares for Chromecast have a Google Cast label. For example, a Chromecast-compatible Vizio speaker is tagged as Google Cast enabled.
In a blog post, Google stressed that the new strategy will better reflect that Google Cast technology is now supported across a wide range of devices such as Chromecast, TVs, displays and speakers.
Chromecast Redux
As of this writing, it has been confirmed that Google is phasing out the Google Cast name in favor of Chromecast. Again, the reason being given is brand identity. In a statement released to Engadget, the company explained that the reversal is expected to help users identify technology that they've come to enjoy and appreciate.
Web administrators at the Google Cast website must have been exasperated about the flip-flopping. To cover the changes, they have included both labels in their recent product description.
"Google Cast — also known as Chromecast built-in — is a technology that lets you cast your favorite entertainment and apps from your phone, tablet or laptop right to your TV or speakers," the website now states.
Based on the change, consumers can expect to find third-party hardwares sporting "Chromecast built-in" instead of the Google Cast tag. That sounds like a Chromecast device is built inside a TV or a speaker, but that is how things are going to be from now on.
What All These Mean To You
Google is possibly causing third-party OEM manufacturers a great deal of consternation. After all, they have to scramble changing their products' labels in order to reflect the company's recent whim. Aside from this, ordinary consumers may also find themselves thoroughly confused with the whole affair.
First, the name Chromecast could be associated with Chrome, which is a web browser. Despite Google's claim that it is based on the Chrome OS, there is scant relationship between these two products because the streaming ecosystem is more identified with the Android platform. One is in the business of loading web pages, while the other plays/streams media.
Then there is also the app required to use Chromecast itself. Originally, it was called the Chromecast app. Recently, however, it was renamed to Google Home purportedly to better fit within an emerging Google Home platform.
Google is said to be implementing the new branding gradually, so all the confusion will probably get sorted out in the long run. In the meantime, if you are a Chromecast user, you need to reserve a lot of patience because you are effectively entangled in the web of those changes.
