Google has applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop and launch a '4K wireless TV box', which will likely be a successor to the company's Nexus Player.
A search for the official filing reveals that Google's 4K box will support both 5GHz and 2.5GHz bands and will support 4x4 5GHz 802.11a/n/ac Wi-Fi, along with Bluetooth 4.1. Google's box will also, as the name suggests, be able to transmit 4K content to a compatible 4K TV wirelessly, without the need for an HDMI cable.
There's no mention of price or release date, but Google already has some images of the new device, as well as a user manual, but these are to be kept confidential until at least 180 days after the FCC filing was granted, which takes us to August. It means there's a good chance the box will show face at the company's annual I/O conference, which takes place from 17-19 May 2017.
Google's box will undoubtedly run on the Android operating system and we expect it will have full integration with Google Home and Google Assistant. It's not clear what services the box would offer, but considering only a few can deliver 4K content in the UK, such as Netflix and Amazon, we expect them to be onboard at least.
The implementation of Google Assistant will help set the box apart from its main competition, such as boxes from Roku, but the Nvidia Shield already offers Google Assistant support built in.
Regardless, the filing confirms Google is working on something at least, hopefully we'll get some updates soon.