Google deposita la richiesta di certificazione per “Sabrina”, il nuovo dongle Android TV che rende smart tutti i televisori
Sabrina, il presunto successore di Google Chromecast e Chromecast Ultra, sembra sempre più vicino al debutto: Google ha infatti chiesto l’approvazione alla FCC americana per l’iscrizione di due nuovi dispositivi le cui sigle sono GZRNL e G9N9N. Dalla descrizione dei dispositivi, sembrerebbero proprio i nuovi dongle per rendere smart i TV tradizionali.
Di Google Sabrina (Sabrina sarebbe il nome in codice del prodotto), si parla ormai da mesi. A giugno XDA Developers ha scoperto che si tratta di un prodotto basato su Android TV e dotato di un telecomando. E questo già lo distingue dal Chromecast tradizionale, che si comanda invece tramite smartphone o PC. In the documents deposited with the American certification body it speaks of an "Interactive Media Streaming Device", equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection. Just the two radio connections, on the other hand, require Google to go through the FCC approval before marketing the product in the United States. But when will Google Sabrina arrive, what will be its features and how much will it cost?
Google Sabrina: how it is made
The two codes in the FCC filing would seem to lead to the same product: the first code would be the actual dongle, the second would be the remote control. Google Sabrina will be built in Thailand and will have dual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection. From the documentation found on the site of the U.S. institution, unfortunately, no other details emerge. But back in June, XDA Developers found much more substantial traces of this device in the code of the new Android TV, including photos.
It will be a dongle looking like a bar of soap, oval and in three colors: white, black or pink. It will most likely be covered with a rubber coating, or a similar material. The remote control will be very simple and intuitive: it will have a microphone to capture voice commands and physical buttons from which you can immediately launch the apps of major streaming services, such as Netflix or Amazon, as well as YouTube.
Google Sabrina: how much it costs and when it arrives
The presence of Sabrina on the FCC website confirms that the device is on the home stretch: it is now ready and in final version, there are only the bureaucratic steps and certifications before it can be put on sale. Probable, therefore, that it will arrive on the U.S. market by the end of the year and then land on other markets, including Italy. The selling price is the big doubt because Sabrina will be inserted in a market populated by devices from the most disparate prices: from 159.99 euros of the Nvidia Shield TV (which become 219 in the Pro version), to 39.99 euros of the Xiaomi Mi TV Stick. These are the two extremes of the market, with very different technical characteristics and production costs. The most likely thing is that Google will fit in between these two extremes, with a good product priced at, indicatively, 80-90 U.S. dollars.