Chromecast Audio, Google’s dongle that turns any speaker with an aux jack into a wireless speaker, has only been out in the world a few months, but it’s already getting some new powers that help justify the teensy dongle.
Today, Google announced two new features. The coolest is the new ability to sync together multiple Chromecast Audio dongles so that they all play the same thing. So if you’ve got one hooked up to the speakers in your living room and one connected to the speakers in your bedroom they can all play the same music—assuming they’re within range of each other. No need to run out and splurge on a Sonos, any more.
Additionally, the device is getting support for high-resolution audio up to 96kHz/24-bit—that’s much higher resolution that the 44.1Khz/16-bit CD-quality standard. (We can argue another time about whether or not high-resolution audio makes any sense.)
Admittedly, I don’t really have any use for a Chromecast Audio, but as I wrote a few months ago, it’s one of the cheapest ways to convert your old school stereo into one you can play music through wirelessly. With each new feature, it becomes more and more attractive.
Contact the author at maguilar@gizmodo.com.