C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
If your TV doesn’t have a smart TV operating system or you simply don’t like the one it comes with, a simple solution is to get a smart TV dongle or set-top box. Our favorite one is the Google TV Streamer, but it isn’t cheap at $99.99 and is not often on sale. Today is your lucky day, as it’s $20 off.
This offer is available from Amazon as a “limited time deal.” It’s only available in Porcelain. If you want the Hazel color version, it’s available from the Google Store. It’s on sale there too, but for $84.99.
Google TV Streamer
Google’s boldest streaming device ever.
Carrying on the legacy of the Chromecast, the Google TV Streamer brings a sleek new design, more power, a redesigned remote, and smart home hub features to Google TV.
We liked the Google TV Streamer and had little to complain about. They are also not really deal-breakers. Mainly, we wish it had expandable storage, and no HDMI cable is included in the box. That said, the 32GB of storage is enough for most people, and HDMI cables are cheap these days. Not to mention, chances are you already have some lying around.
We were a bit worried about Google killing the Chromecast line-up, but found that the Google TV Streamer is a nice upgrade. This is a true winner.
You’ll get a MediaTek MT8696 processor, which is 22% faster than the one found in the previous Chromecast with Google TV. Other specs include 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. These are also nice upgrades, as the Chromecast with Google TV had 2GB of RAM and only 8GB of storage. We can tell you the performance difference is definitely noticeable, even while simply navigating through the UI.
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
The design is still minimalist and oval-shaped, with toned-down colors. The only difference is that it is a smart TV box, so it is meant to live on a flat surface, instead of hiding behind the TV.
The rest of the experience is exactly what you would expect. The Google TV OS gives you access to the Google Play Store and everything it offers. It also has Google Cast support, so you can beam any content from a supported smartphone app. A really neat addition is Google Home and Google Assistant support, so you can even control your smart home devices with it. It even has Thread and Matter compatibility, so it doubles as a smart home hub.
We also liked the remote more. It is slightly larger, but we find that this makes it more ergonomic. The previous one was a bit too small. And if you happen to lose it, it has a new Find My Remote function that makes it chirp.
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