Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): What’s the difference?

Considering the 12-inch Retina display MacBook was released last April it was due for a refresh and Apple hasn’t disappointed.

A new model has been announced and is now available to buy from Apple.com, Apple retail stores and select partners.

As before, there are a couple of variants you can purchase, depending on how beefy you want the processor and what storage size you require, so choices abound for new buyers. Current MacBook owners might also consider upgrading and want to know what they get for their money.

That’s why we’ve taken a look at the differences and specs to give you an idea of whether that would be worth it for you.

READ: Apple announces new MacBook line-up, rose gold version added

Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): Design

Physically, this year’s MacBook is identical to last year’s model. You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference when looking at similarly coloured versions even when placed side by side.

It is still made from machined aluminium and is identical in shape, size and weight. As the 2015 edition, the update for 2016 is 131 x 280.5 x 196.5mm with the height also going down to 35mm at its thinnest edge.

It weighs 0.92kg.

The one major difference this time around is that Apple has added a new colour scheme to match its iPhone and iPad line-ups: rose gold.

The pink hued model is added to the same space grey, gold and silver variants also available last year.

Both MacBooks only come with a USB Type-C connection for power and external use. However, many third-party accessories are now available that can add Ethernet, microSD and USB ports.

READ: Apple MacBook review: Is port-free the future?

Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): Display

Like the design, the Retina display on both this and last year’s MacBooks is identical.

It is a 12-inch LED backlit display with IPS technology. Resolution is 2304 x 1440 (226ppi) and it features a 16:10 aspect ratio.

Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): Processor

The main changes between the MacBook 2016 edition and the last version start with the processor. Last year, the entry level model offered a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor that used Apple’s Turbo Boost tech to get up to 2.4GHz.

The entry level model this time has a 1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core m3 processor, but weirdly the Turbo Boost ability is quoted at 2.2GHz.

The higher spec’ed edition fares a little better. It featured a 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor last year, with Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz.

The new model has a 1.2GHz dual-core Intel Core m7 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz.

As with last year, you can also specify a faster processor still, when bought from Apple.com and chosen at checkout. Last year that was a 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz. This year’s MacBook can be specified with a 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core m7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz.

It’s worth noting that the latest round of Intel Skylake processors are better in other ways too, it’s not just about the clock speed. Power management is thought to be one benefit, for example.

Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): Graphics

Graphics processing has also been improved on the new MacBook. Potentially, this could be the most noticeable upgrade, in fact.

Last year, the MacBook utilised the Intel HD Graphics 5300 chip, while this year that has been swapped for the more recent Intel HD Graphics HD 515 GPU.

Apple claims it is 25 per cent faster year-on-year. It also now decodes H.265/HEVC video on the chip itself, so should take some strain away from other processes when playing back high resolution video.

Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): Storage and memory

The storage options offered are identical between models. Like last year, the entry level model comes with 256GB of PCI-e flash storage, while the higher end MacBook comes with 512GB.

There is a difference in RAM though, which will affect speed of operation.

While the amount of RAM is the same – 8GB – this year Apple is using 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory. Last year the speed of the RAM was limited to 1600MHz. 

Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): Battery and power

Apple also claims that the battery life of the latest MacBook is longer than its predecessor. It states that you can get up to 10 hours of wireless web usage, in preference to the nine hours quoted last year.

That also equates to 11 hours of iTunes movie playback over the last model’s quoted 10 hours.

That’s partly thanks to a bigger built-in battery; it is now 41.4 watt-hour over the 39.7 watt-hour version in the 2015 device. It can also be credited to slightly better power management of the updated components.

Apple MacBook (2016) vs MacBook (2015): Conclusion

There’s no doubt about it, this year’s MacBook is better than last. However, it isn’t a massive leap and in some cases, it is identical.

You will notice a speed boost in using applications and software. Some games might run a bit better too, if that’s your bag. But changes will be fractional and you have to consider whether it is worth shelling out over a grand on a few minor upgrades.

The price is identical this year, with the MacBook starting at £1,049 for the 256GB model, rising to £1,299 for the 512GB edition. You can also chuck an extra £120 on top of either if you want the highest spec’ed processor.

If you haven’t yet got a MacBook and are in the market, it’s a no brainer. That is unless you see one of last year’s versions second-hand for around £500-600. That would still represent a bargain, we feel.

Motorola Moto G (2016) release date, rumours and everything you need to know

Motorola can be a complicated beast these days. For a start it’s owned by Lenovo but still sporting the Motorola Moto naming. Then there are all the models.

At the top end there’s the Motorola Moto X, which comes in X Force, X Play and X Style variants. Then there’s the Moto E at the bottom end, for an affordable offering. Bang in the middle is the Moto G, which was at its third generation in 2015. Now there’s a new fourth gen model expected for 2016.

The rumour mill has churned up to speed and is currently spitting out teasers for the Motorola Moto G for 2016. We’ve compiled everything there is to know so far and will be updating this feature as news comes in, so you know exactly what to expect.

Motorola Moto G (2016): Price and release date

Motorola took the wraps off last year’s Moto G update in July. Rumours for the Moto G (2016) began to appear near the start of 2016.

While the Lenovo owned company may change release schedule to suit the wide array of phones it now offers we’re inclined to expect another July unveil for the Moto G (2016).

Pricing is going to sit the Moto G (2016) between the Moto X and Moto E meaning it should be around the £150 mark, as the current third gen Moto G is priced.

nowhereelse

Motorola Moto G (2016): Design and build

The Motorola Moto G for 2016 has leaked in images shared by nowhereelse (above) showing the handset from the front and the back.

The leaked shots show that the Moto G (2016) will feature a physical square home button on the front. Rumours suggest this will double as a fingerprint reader, making that a first for the Moto G range.

The front appears to have a flat glass display that runs off into the metallic, or at least metallic looking, frame. Gone are the top and bottom silver coloured speaker lines of the previous generation too.

HelloMotoHK

The rear of the handset appears to feature a removable polycarbonate case with rounded edges. Another leak, from Hong Kong (above), shows a keyring holding together a selection of varying rear cases. This would suggest case options for personalisation will be an focus for Moto.

This is all backed up by a render shared by Evan Blass (top) showing the Moto G (2016) in white.

Andro4all

However, a leaked image from Spanish site andro4all shows what it claims is the Moto G for 2016 without a physical home button at all. This photo looks real and the handset even looks very like previous leaks, minus the fingerprint reader. Current theories suggest there will be two variants of the Moto G, one with a fingerprint reader and one without. Other specs are also expected to varying which will be reflected in a price difference. 

Motorola Moto G (2016): Display

The third-gen Moto G for 2015 featured a 5-inch 1280 x 720 resolution display. Now that smartphones with 1080p screens are prevalent, hopes are set on a resolution bump for 2016.

Judging from the leaked photos, the Moto G (2016) may be slightly larger than the 5-inch mark to offer more screen space.

Motorola Moto G (2016): Camera

Motorola packed a hefty 21-megapixel camera into the Moto X for 2015 while the Moto G for 2015 had an 8-megapixel snapper with HDR.

As camera modules drop in price it’s likely the Moto G (2016) will get an upgraded snapper in the rear and hopefully a decent front-facing selfie camera.

Rumours suggest the camera will be the same 16-megapixel module found in the LG G5 meaning and f/1.8 aperture with 28mm equivalent focal length. We’re taking this with a pinch of salt as there’s a chance the rumour mill is touting the Moto X (2016) camera here.

HelloMotoHK

Motorola Moto G (2016): Hardware power and performance

The Moto G (2016) will almost certainly come with 4G connectivity, as the generation before it did. It should also come with better specs than the third-gen 2015 model which topped out with a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1GB of RAM.

Motorola Moto G (2016): Software

The Motorola Moto G (2016) should come with Google’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, at least.

While Android N is on the way we’d expect this to follow as a software update for the handset later in the year.

Motorola Moto G (2016): First impressions

The Motorola Moto G (2016) should help to enhance the mid range offering from the Lenovo owned company. But with plenty of competition in this area of the market it’s going to be all about the best specs for lowest price.

It will be interesting to see two variants in the mid-range, if they appear. That will put a lot of Motorola Moto options on the market making Lenovo’s phone offerings massive.

Europe starts antitrust proceedings with Google over Android

The day Google feared has finally come: The European Commission has filed formal charges against the search giant for anti-competitive behavior related to Android. The European Union’s commissioner for competition, Margrethe Vestager, has been officially probing the platform, trying to establish whether Google was abusing its dominant position in the market by preventing or hindering competitors from developing Android forks, rival applications and services. Almost exactly a year after opening the formally opening the investigation, Vestager has decided the answer to those three questions is essentially “yes.”

In a Statement of Objections issued today, the European Commission says that Google breached antitrust rules by ‘requiring manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Google’s Chrome browser and requiring them to set Google Search as default search service on their devices, as a condition to license certain Google proprietary apps;” by “preventing manufacturers from selling smart mobile devices running on competing operating systems based on the Android open source code;” and by “giving financial incentives to manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-install Google Search on their devices.”

The statement goes into more detail on each point. It says Google makes companies sign contracts that require the Play Store to be pre-installed on devices in order for Search access. It says Google makes companies sign contracts that require Chrome to be pre-installed on devices in order for Play Store access. Tangling the services together ensures, for example, that Chrome “is pre-installed on the significant majority of devices sold in the EEA.”

The commission calls out an “Anti-Fragmentation Agreement”

Interestingly, the commission calls out an “Anti-Fragmentation Agreement,” which companies must sign if they want Google’s apps, that prevents them from selling any device running an Android fork. It also says that Google “has granted significant financial incentives to some of the largest smartphone and tablet manufacturers as well as mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-install Google Search on their devices,” although does not give any concrete figure regarding those incentives.

It goes on to note that there’s no issue with financial incentives, but rather “with the conditions associated with Google’s financial incentives, in particular with the condition that the financial incentive is not paid if any other search provider than Google Search is pre-installed on smart mobile devices.”

Google was obviously prepared for this day. It released a response within seconds of the Statement of Objections, titled “Android’s Model of Open Innovation.” In it, Google says Android is offered in a “careful way” that’s ultimately “good for competition and for consumers.” We’ve reached out to the company for more reaction to the decision, and will update this article with any further information we receive.

Today’s announcement doesn’t affect Europe’s other antitrust case against Google. The commission laid out its objections last year to Google’s search practices, specifically that it uses its enviable position to push users towards its own services like Google Shopping.

President Obama has all-but accused the EU of protectionism

That probe has drawn the ire of many in the US, including President Obama, who all-but accused the EU of protectionism. Speaking with Recode, Obama said that “sometimes the European response here is more commercially driven than anything else.” He added that “oftentimes what [are] portrayed as high-minded positions on issues sometimes [are] just designed to carve out some of their commercial interests.” It’s unlikely that Obama, or any other detractors, are going to be very pleased with the Commission moving forward with a second case.

If you want an idea of how fast these investigations move, the Google Shopping investigation has been in the works for over six years now. Vestager prefers to work with companies, rather than against them, using the threat of ten-figure fines to persuade them into changing behavior. (With the two cases combined, Google’s actually facing an eleven-figure fine closer to $15 billion). So, expect Google and the EU to argue a lot about the details, and eventually come to an agreement sometime next decade.

Update: Vestager has given a full statement explaining some of the reasoning behind today’s decision in more human language than the official Statement of Objections. You can read the whole thing yourself, but here are some choice excerpts:

“Smartphones and tablets play a key role in our lives. Every day we use them to read the news, shop online and check the weather forecast. About 80% of those devices in Europe and the world run on Android. This number is even higher for smartphones and tablets in the lower price range, which the majority of European consumers buy.”

“Google has shares of over 90% in Europe in the markets for general internet search services, licensable smart mobile operating systems and app stores for the Android operating system. This is, as such, not a problem under EU competition law. However, dominant companies have a responsibility not to abuse their powerful market position by restricting competition.”

“Our preliminary view is that Google has abused its dominant positions in these three markets. Its strategy to protect and strengthen its dominance in general internet search has two main elements: First, the practices mean that Google Search is pre-installed and set as the default, or exclusive, search service on most Android devices sold in Europe. Second, the practices close off ways for rival search engines to access the market, via competing mobile browsers and operating systems.”

“If the Commission comes to the conclusion that EU antitrust rules have been breached, companies have to change the way they do business and may face fines. This is necessary to effectively protect European consumers but, of course, also means that the rights of defence of the company concerned must be fully respected.”

“To be clear, this is an interim step and not the end of the road – Google now has 12 weeks to respond, and it also has the possibility to request an oral hearing to present its views. I will carefully consider Google’s arguments before deciding how to proceed.”

Source: Google, Europa

China’s LeEco teases its very own autonomous electric car

LeEco really wants the world to know it isn’t just about TVs and smartphones. After the announcements of its investment in Faraday Future and Aston Martin earlier this year, today LeEco showed off its very first electric car that actually moves. The LeSEE vehicle was driven out of a container from one end of the stage, and later, CEO Jia Yueting did a live demo of its self-driving and self-parking capability using voice commands via a mobile app, albeit moving in low speed due to the limited space, as you can see in the video after the break. There’s no mention of specs and the English subtitles suggest that this is more of a concept car at the moment, but it does appear to be a solid start.

As an investor of China’s car-hailing app Yidao Yongche, LeEco envisions its future LeSEE cars to form a fleet of autonomous taxis, with their front lights indicating their availability using various colors. In the official video, the car has conventional front doors and rear suicide doors, and somehow, the back seats can apparently adapt to the shape of the passengers’ bodies — yep, smells like a concept. There are, however, touchscreens behind the front seats which can obviously take advantage of LeEco’s rich video entertainment. Jia added that the car will also do face recognition and self-learning, but we’ll have to wait for a future demo on those.

The first LeSEE electric car will make its proper debut at the Beijing Auto Show on April 24th, and there’s any new info to share then, we’ll keep y’all posted.

BMW’s key EV executives depart for Chinese startup

Several key executives behind BMW’s well-regarded i8 and i3 electric vehicles have been hired away by a little-known China-based company called Future Mobility. The German automaker confirmed to Engadget that “BMW i” division head designer Benoit Jacob, head of product management Henrik Wenders and powertrain developer Dirk Abendroth have departed. They’ll be joining Carsten Breitfeld, who left BMW last month to become CEO of Future Mobility Corp. The Chinese startup is funded in part by Tencent Holdings, a $200 billion company with divisions ranging from gaming to messaging.

BMW launched its $40,000 city-oriented i3 vehicle and $135,000 i8 EV supercar in 2011, both to general acclaim. Sales for the vehicles have been respectable in the EV category, as the company sold 24,000 i3 models in 2015. However, the company delayed plans to introduce a new model called the i NEXT from next year to at least 2020.

At the same time, rival Tesla has sold 50,000 copies of its Model S, a $76,500 vehicle. In addition, it has so far pre-sold nearly 400,000 copies of the new Model 3, a car that won’t hit roads until at least the end of 2017. If just half of the folks who placed orders take delivery, that would put the Model 3 in the top ten best-selling cars in the US, ahead of mainstream vehicles like the Hyundai Sonata and Ford Focus.

Despite the departures, BMW spokesman Paloma Brunckhorst tells Engadget that it’s “totally convinced [about BMW i] and that the electric car is the future.” Later this year, the company will reveal a new BMW i3 model with 50 percent more battery capacity. That would boost the vehicle’s range to 120 to 150 miles (without the gas-powered range extender), enough to make it practical for short trips outside of cities. Tesla’s Model 3 and the Chevy Bolt both have claimed ranges of around 200 miles.

BMW will also launch an i8 Roadster in 2018, and the aforementioned i NEXT vehicle, “a larger, electrically-powered BMW i model … [at] the beginning of the next decade,” says Brunckhorst. New tech in the model will include “autonomous driving, digital connectivity, intelligent light-weight construction and the next generation of electric mobility.” In addition, the company will have five hybrid-electric vehicles under its “iPerformance” banner by summer of 2016.

If accurate, the departure is no doubt a blow to BMW. However, it’s certainly not unusual in the EV industry — a key Tesla executive reportedly left for Apple recently. Tesla has called Apple — which is reportedly developing its own EV — the “Tesla graveyard” for hiring its unwanted engineers. As for China’s Future Mobility, it will do EV research and development in Shenzhen, China, with European divisions responsible for the design, powertrain, self-driving system and other features. The company plans to build a premium “internet smart electric car … with Chinese roots and a global reach,” according to China Daily.

Apple Backs Open Letter to Senators Criticizing Draft Encryption Bill

An open letter expressing “deep concerns” about a U.S. draft encryption bill that would force smartphone makers to decrypt data at the behest of the government was published yesterday, signed by four coalitions representing Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and other major tech companies.

The letter is addressed to the bill’s sponsors, Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, and warns of the legislation’s “unintended consequences”, calling its requirements of technology companies “well-intentioned but ultimately unworkable” (via The Verge).

Any mandatory decryption requirement, such as that included in the discussion draft of the bill that you authored, will to lead to unintended consequences. The effect of such a requirement will force companies to prioritize government access over other considerations, including digital security. As a result, when designing products or services, technology companies could be forced to make decisions that would create opportunities for exploitation by bad actors seeking to harm our customers and whom we all want to stop. The bill would force those providing digital communication and storage to ensure that digital data can be obtained in “intelligible” form by the government, pursuant to a court order. This mandate would mean that when a company or user has decided to use some encryption technologies, those technologies will have to be built to allow some third party to potentially have access. This access could, in turn, be exploited by bad actors.

It is also important to remember that such a technological mandate fails to account for the global nature of today’s technology. For example, no accessibility requirement can be limited to U.S. law enforcement; once it is required by the U.S., other governments will surely follow. In addition, the U.S. has no monopoly on these security measures. A law passed by Congress trying to restrict the use of data security measures will not prevent their use. It will only serve to push users to non-U.S. companies, in turn undermining the global competitiveness of the technology industry in the U.S. and resulting in more and more data being stored in other countries.

We support making sure that law enforcement has the legal authorities, resources, and training it needs to solve crime, prevent terrorism, and protect the public. However, those things must be carefully balanced to preserve our customers’ security and digital information. We are ready and willing to engage in dialogue about how to strike that balance, but remain concerned about efforts to prioritize one type of security over all others in a way that leads to unintended, negative consequences for the safety of our networks and our customers.

The letter is signed by Reform Government Surveillance, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Entertainment Software Association, and the Internet Infrastructure Coalition. Facebook, Netflix, eBay, and Dropbox are among other companies represented by the groups.

The news follows heavy criticism of the bill from security experts after a draft titled “The Compliance with Court Orders Act 2016” was circulated earlier this month following Apple’s standoff with the FBI over access to an iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino terrorist attack. The draft states that all providers of communication services and products must respect the “rule of law” and comply with legal requirements and court orders to provide information stored either on devices or remotely.

Without detailing specific technical demands, the wording of the act itself makes end-to-end encryption impossible. Experts said it was “absurd”, “dangerous”, and “bad legislation in every way”, amounting to a government-mandated back door.

The White House remains deeply divided on the issue and has so far decided not to offer public support for the legislation. Language in the draft bill is subject to changes based on input from stakeholders, although an official draft was released one week ago with few changes from the earlier version. Senators Burr and Feinstein have yet to respond to the letter.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Apple-FBI
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Intel to Cut 12,000 Jobs Amid Declining PC Market

Intel has announced a major corporate restructuring that will see 11 percent of its workforce laid off as the company intensifies its focus on its data center and smart connected computing businesses.

The move is being billed as a profitable and efficient evolution of the company away from its traditional PC sector base toward more high-growth areas, broadly defined as its cloud-powering hardware and Internet of Things businesses. These areas reportedly made Intel $2.2 billion in revenue growth last year, making up 40 percent of its operating profit and offsetting its decline in the PC market.

Combined with its gaming, home gateway, memory and connectivity businesses, the initiative will fuel a “virtuous cycle of growth”, said Intel, but the move comes at the cost of up to 12,000 jobs globally. The company said the layoffs will be completed by mid-2017 through a combination of voluntary and involuntary departures as it re-evaluates its programs and consolidates its sites worldwide.

Intel forecasts that the initiative will deliver $750 million in savings in 2016 and annual run rate savings of $1.4 billion by the middle of the following year.

While Intel’s press release makes no mention of its latest microprocessor uptake in the PC market, the company did recently confirm the end of its highly successful decade-long “tick-tock” strategy of annually delivering new processors, after chip updates stretched beyond the yearly cycle in recent generations and began affecting Apple’s product launch cycles. The launch of Intel’s Kaby Lake 14-nm microarchitecture was delayed to the second half of 2016 after Skylake suffered similar setbacks in 2015.

Semiconductor foundries have had increasingly tough times creating smaller process nodes as fabrication of smaller transistors has become increasingly expensive and complex. Intel has said it will now move to a new “Process-Architecture-Optimization” model for its current 14-nm node and next-generation 10-nm node family of chips.

Tag: Intel
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World’s first HDR display smartphone, the Sony Xperia X Premium leaks

Sony has already wowed the world with its Xperia X Performance smartphone which sports a 4K screen, yet it may already have an HDR upgrade. The Sony Xperia X Premium is being leaked as the world’s first HDR smartphone which is set to be the brightest with most colours.

The Sony Xperia X Premium, according to sources of Phone Radar, is going to offer a 5.5-inch display at 1080p resolution which can manage High Dynamic Range. Baring in mind that televisions haven’t had this feature for long that’s an impressive jump, even if it isn’t 4K also.

One of the important parts of HDR is brightness, in order to show that range. That’s why the Xperia X Premium should come with a screen capable of up to 1300 nits of brightness. By comparison the Samsung Galaxy S7 tops out at 855 nits.

For colour depth this HDR screen will offer a staggering 1.07 billion where the nearest best right now manages just 16.8 million. So instead of 256 shades of RGB colour, the 10-bit HDR display manages 1024 colour shades.

On top of all that the screen refreshes at 120Hz and has a contrast ratio of 2000:1.

But what’s it all for? The 4K Sony Xperia X Performance hasn’t proven that useful or sold that well. But, in the near future, virtual reality will require these refresh rates and colour ranges as people start using their phones more in headsets. Looking at screens that close requires quality and, in order to avoid disorientation, a good refresh rate.

The Sony Xperia X Premium is expected to run a Snapdragon 820 processor with Adreno 530 GPU, 3GB of RAM and USB-C. When it will appear is not so clear.

READ: What is Ultra HD Premium and why does it matter?

Apple agrees to pay $24.9 million to settle Siri patent lawsuit

Apple has agreed to settle yet another lawsuit from the ever-growing list of litigations it’s battling to the tune of $24.9 million. This particular case, filed back in 2012 by a company called Dynamic Advances, alleges that Siri infringes on a patent owned by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a private research university in Troy, New York. Rensselaer’s patent application was granted in 2007, years before Siri was released, and Dynamic Advances holds the exclusive license to it. The lawsuit was supposed to go to trial next month, but the settlement terms require the plaintiff to drop the case completely.

In exchange for $24.9 million, Apple will be allowed to continue loading its devices with Siri and the assurance that it’s not going to be sued based on the same patent again… at least for the next three years. Dynamic Advances is getting $5 million as soon as the case is dropped, with the rest to follow. It expects to pocket half of the amount and divvy up the rest to pay Rensselaer and its lawyers, among the other entities involved in the case.

If you’re wondering, the patent in question is called “Natural language interface using constrained intermediate dictionary of results.” The document says the invention “relates to user interfaces, and more specifically, to user interfaces that recognize natural language.”

Via: The Verge

Source: Albany Business Review

Google launches new Chromecast, Chromecast Audio in India for ₹3,399

Google has launched the new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio in the Indian market. Both devices are now available for ₹3,399.

Google is bundling six months of Saavn Pro and Hooq with either device. Cast support in Saavn and Wynk Music allows you to stream music directly to the Chromecast with ease. As for the devices themselves, the new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio resemble a hockey puck, and can now connect to 5GHz Wi-Fi networks.

Configuring the Chromecast is very straightforward. Plug in the Chromecast to your TV using HDMI or the Chromecast Audio to your stereo through the 3.5mm jack, head to the setup page, and then start casting content through the Google Cast app.

The Chromecast and Chromecast Audio will be available for purchase at Flipkart, Paytm, and Snapdeal, as well as offline retailers such as Reliance Digital and Croma.

MORE: Chromecast and Chromecast Audio for 2015 review