If you have been debating over the decision to buy a Chromecast Audio dongle lately, you might want to hurry up and make a purchase. In a statement to Android Police, the company has confirmed that the device has been discontinued and no more of them will be manufactured. Support for the gadget will be continued, though.
Google introduced Chromecast Audio in 2015 as part of its Chromecast range of media players. The obvious difference between the Chromecast Audio and a regular Chromecast was that the former came with a 3.5 mm jack/mini-TOSLINK socket instead of an HDMI plug. The Google dongle attempted to attract music-lovers and audiophiles with its support for 96 KHz/24-bit lossless audio playback.
However, the time has come for the Chromecast Audio to take a final bow. It seems stocks of the gadget are rapidly diminishing: Like the Google Store, Staples is also listing the dongle as out of stock, although Newegg is still offering it through a third-party seller for US$29 at the time of writing.