Google has a new streaming box called the Google TV Streamer 4K. It replaces the older Chromecast with Google TV, which replaced the older Chromecast models. Think of it as the successor to the small dongle that started it all with all the software and extras added along the way.
Google also bumped up the price substantially, charging $100. That's pretty steep compared to the $30 the previous model cost. However, it could be worth it, as it has better hardware that can support advanced media codecs and integrate Gemini AI models. That depends on what you need it to do.
It's not for me, though, because I'm not the target market, and Google knows it. This device was made for most people who do not need a "professional" device.
I'm still using the Nvidia Shield TV Pro because I want to do more than stream media from online sources. I have 8TB of storage attached to my Shield and use Plex, so I can stream my own media through the Shield. Yes, you can technically plug external storage into the Google TV Streamer, but the Shield was made to do this, and even has Plex built into the device's software.
Others do even more with devices like the Shield Pro—there are plenty of different ways to use a good "Pro" TV box, and having one that runs Android means there is plenty of ready-made software to help you do it.
People who use these advanced features aren't necessarily super-nerds. There is a market for hardware and software that makes setting up your own media streaming device pretty easy.
That doesn't mean very many people do it, though.
That's the thing with Google. The company does things we think are dumb, like killing off services and products or replacing a product everyone loves with something new and more expensive. It does it because it knows what people do with these services and devices.
Google decided that people would see the value in a new Android TV device with better hardware that offers a better experience. It also decided that building a device that does more—and costs much more—is not something that would sell as easily because that market isn't very big. You could spend more money and try to make the TV Streamer into a home media streamer, but it wasn't designed to be.
And this isn't just a hunch. When you use any device or service, the companies behind them know what you're doing, when you're doing it, and when you stopped. Other metrics, like how you used it, help tell the company what people are really doing. Nodoby at Google is keeping track of what you watch on your Google TV because it doesn't need to know; data from a single user is useless in this case. Google looks at the overall stats to help decide how to proceed.
When a company decides to make a new or revised product, it considers what most people want. In this case, I think the company made the right decision because almost nobody reading this will set up a Plex server or turn a streaming box into a game console. People want something that is easy to use and works well.
Google's biggest problem was deciding how cheap they could sell it. A "new" Shield TV Pro is $199.99 and that's a really good price if you have a use for it. The somewhat new Chromecast with Google TV HD is just $30, and that's a steal if you want something to plug in, hook up to Wi-Fi, and just watch "stuff." This new Google TV Streamer aims to be the middle ground with better hardware that costs more.
In addition, Google added some cool stuff, like a home control panel and support for Thread and Matter. You could say that some of this should have been there from the beginning, and I would agree, but this unifies Google's ecosystem of home products, and Google knows people wanted that to happen.
I can't decide if the Google TV Streamer is something you should buy without knowing why you want it. I'm thinking about it because the new home control features have me curious about how well it works. It's not going to replace my Shield TV Pro, though, because it's already paid for and does exactly what I want it to do.
