What you need to know
- Walmart debuted the Onn Full HD streaming stick with Google TV today, retailing for $15.
- You can order the device on Walmart's website starting now, but there appears to be no in-store purchase or pickup options just yet.
- This is Walmart's second in-house streaming device. It released a 4K UHD streaming box with Google TV earlier this year under the same Onn brand.
There's a new affordable device that makes any TV smart with the Google TV streaming platform. Walmart unveiled today what it calls the Onn Google TV Full HD Streaming Device (via 9to5Google), which comes with a retail price of $15.
The company's latest streaming product is naturally a competitor with Google's own Chromecast with Google TV (HD). Both devices run on the Google TV platform, a user interface designed by Google specifically for streaming that works atop Android TV OS. The remote for Walmart's streaming stick is also made for Google TV, including things like a voice assistant button.
Walmart released this Google TV streaming stick under its Onn electronics brand, and it joins a few other of Walmart's streaming endeavors. The company released a 4K UHD streaming box with Google TV last year for $20, and this product will still remain as a 4K alternative to the new HD-only streaming stick. Before that, Walmart made a streaming stick based on Android TV in 2021.
While Walmart's streaming stick matches the feature set of a Chromecast with Google TV in the ways that matter, it doesn't get all the way there. The Onn streaming stick has 1.5GB of memory and 8GB of storage, and that's identical to the Chromecast with Google TV's specifications. It hasn't yet been confirmed what processor is powering this Onn device, but it's possible that it could be the same Amlogic S805X2 chip as the Chromecast with Google TV.
However, Walmart's option clearly falls short in the areas of power and design. It uses a micro-USB port for power, whereas the Chromecast with Google TV uses USB-C instead. Similarly, the remote for Onn's streaming stick looks a bit cluttered with buttons. Google's own remote looks sleek and simplistic by comparison.
But since this new streaming stick from Walmart runs Google TV, users will still get access to streaming services, Google's voice assistant, Chromecast, and many of the other flagship features from Google's own streaming stick.
At a retail price of just $15, there may be a market for Walmart's streaming stick as an affordable way to get Google TV on any television for cheap. It is worth noting that recent deals have brought the price of a Chromecast with Google TV down to as low as $20, though its full retail price is $30.
You can order the Onn streaming stick with Google TV today on Walmart's website, but there appears to be no in-store availability yet. Despite the product just being released today, there are already more than 75 "incentivized" customer reviews for it on Walmart's website, where people were given a free sample or other incentive in exchange for a review.
