Google Chromecast finally gets a menu and remote with Google TV launch

(Google)

Google has launched a new version of its Chromecast, finally adding a menu and a remote.

A new service called Google TV will allow the set-top box not just to work as an accessory for the phone but on its own, too.

Google TV looks to unite a variety of different apps, allowing users to see films and TV shows from a host of apps – not just YouTube but Netflix and more traditional channels too – all in one bunch on their home screen.

Google has launched a variety of Chromecasts, regularly updating them, but al of them have had the same basic idea. The puck connects to the television and also connects to a phone, allowing people to send video from their device to their television.

That is still available on the new Chromecast. But the new tool can be used without a phone at all, with users also able to navigate using a remote.

As well as being the first debut of the Google TV menu, it is also the first time that the Chromecast has come with a remote.

The new Chromecast costs $49 or £59 in the UK and is available to pre-order from the Google Store in the US and UK now. It will be released on 15 October.

It will come to other countries later in the year, Google said during its live launch event.

It will come in three colours, which Google refers to as Snow, Sky and Sunrise but which might also be called white, light blue and light pink.