IFixit tears apart Chromecast 2 and Chromecast Audio

Exactly how much stuff can Google cram into the tiny hockey puck that is this year’s line of Chromecast dongles?

As for the parts, the new Chromecast models each rely on 2GB of flash memory from Toshiba and a dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 media processor from Marvell, while the Chromecast 2015 has 4GB of RAM from Samsung, and the Chromecast Audio uses 2GB of RAM from Nanya.

The new SoC supports playback of 1080p at 60 FPS with 12 bit deep colour and has a 3G GPU with Open GL ES 1.1 or 2.0 support. Just last week, Google unveiled its second-gen Chromecast, complete with faster wireless, a wider selection of apps and expanded storage.

As iFixit has been known to do, they’ve subjected another new tech device to their detailed teardown process.

The original 2013 Chromecast had a Cortex A9 single core Armada 1500 mini 88DE3005 optimised for Chromecast, Netflix and YouTube streaming.

On the other side, his brother, Chromecast Audio, is not that different.

Engadget commented that the sticks are something one does not want to fix if they malfunction.

It is for the goal of taking a peek at what is inside of the two dongles that prompted iFixit to tear them down and they did find a few interesting reveals, such as Google using a thermal paste so the gadget can avoid overheating.

Also clearly visible were the advertised three-antenna array and a “super-durable” internal HDMI cable housing, and the latter was a big bonus for iFixit, who points out that such a replaceable and repairable cable “adds longevity…by addressing what is likely to be the most common problem-a damaged plug or loose HDMI connection”. This is expected to reduce the overheating issue that was often found with the original Chromecast.