Google’s Chromecast with Google TV (4K) (doesn’t that just roll off the tongue?) is officially no more. Instead, the search conglomerate has waded back into the streaming arena, four years later we might add, to bring out the $100 (R1,850) Google TV Streamer – taking on the form of something a little more traditional.
By that, we mean Google’s axed the dongle look that’s become synonymous with the company’s physical streaming efforts, instead opting to fit in with the rest of the crowd by going for a simpler, cleaner set-top box. It’s at least foregone the plain ol’ rectangle look and puts a somewhat innovative spin on the thing.
Long live the Google TV Streamer
First and foremost, the Google TV Streamer introduces a massive bump in performance, trouncing the now four-year-old Chromecast with double the RAM, a chipset Google reckons is 22% faster and 32GB of storage. It’s not quite the power you’d find packed inside the Apple TV 4K, but that’s to be expected considering the $100 price.
The new form factor means you’ll need to BYOHDMI (bring your own HDMI) to the party now, and if you have one going spare, an Ethernet cable, something the Chromecast’s tiny body never could quite manage.
Google’s justifying the massive price jump by including a smattering of Gemini AI features (someone’s gotta use them, right?) that’ll hook users up with “full summaries, reviews and season-by-season breakdowns of content,” that’ll supposedly make finding your next binge a little easier. We’ll stick to mindlessly scrolling through the same four shows on Netflix, though, thanks.
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It’s even infecting your screensaver with AI. “Create one-of-a-kind screensaver art with generative AI — just use your voice to describe your vision, or let a guided experience inspire you.”
Matter integration is a thing now, too. That’ll only really matter to those users whose homes are kitted out with Matter-enabled tech, allowing them to instantly pull up a menu from the Streamer’s home page and control them without ever needing to pause House of the Dragon.
At the time of writing, Google hasn’t outlined any plans to bring the TV Streamer to South Africa, though we know it’ll hit shelves in the US on 24 September. Google’s reluctance to keep the Fitbit and Nest brand alive in SA doesn’t bode well for the future of Google’s TV Streamer in SA. That’s where the grey importers come in.