It’s been four years since the launch of the Chromecast with Google TV (CCwGTV). In a surprise announcement in August, Google ended their Chromecast series, launching the new Google TV Streamer.
The Google TV Streamer has a new form factor, steering away from the previous (much loved) dongle design which hid away behind the TV, in favour of a set-top box. There is more memory and storage in the larger form-factor with a faster processor onboard to power new features including Gemini AI – but there’s also a more premium price tag attached.
Priced at $159, the Google TV Streamer is also more expensive than the CCwGTV which sold for $99 for a 4K model, or $59 for the HD resolution model.
The Google TV Streamer is now on-sale, and Trevor has given his first thoughts. Google sent one over for review on launch day and Scott and I, who are both avid users of the CCwGTV, have been checking it out over the past week, and here’s how it went.
Setup
The Google TV Streamer comes with almost everything you need to get up and running. There’s a 7.5W USB Type-C adapter and cable included along with the TV Streamer, remote control and two AAA batteries also included.
What you don’t receive is a HDMI cable. This IS pretty standard for set top boxes though, with neither the Apple TV, nor NVIDIA Shield including one in the box. You’ll need a HDMI 2.1 cable to get the best out of the TV Streamer if your TV supports it, so grab one when you pick it up in the store.
The rest is easy, connect the power and plug the HDMI cable into your TV, and if you have it, you can connect an ethernet cable – but fear not, there’s Wi-Fi on-board to use if you don’t
You can set up the Google TV Streamer using either the Google Home app – available for Android and iOS – or the remote, which gets paired with the TV Streamer as part of the process.
Once signed in with your Google account you’ll get some personalisation options which includes selecting which streaming apps you want to use — or at least from the selection offered, which includes a limited selection.
One of the last parts of the setup process is installing localised services. Google offers a number of options as well as some more popular international streaming services – though it’s not a complete list.
Although SBS On Demand doesn’t make the list – alongside literally every other terrestrial station, the app is available to install from the Play Store on the TV Streamer – and works really well. Unfortunately you also can’t install Kayo as yet – an annoyance as it’s available for the CCwGTV, so hopefully it won’t be much longer until it can be installed.
Finding apps can also be a little hit and miss. The issue appears to be that the main search bar on the Google TV home screen tends to be a broad ‘everything’ search for apps, games and Content which can yield frustrating results on occasion – i.e searching Google. The search bar on the ‘Apps’ tab though appears to directly search Google Play and yields far better results for apps.
Disappointingly for gamers, there’s no ‘Games’ section to scroll through, only a limited ‘Must have Games’ focus – so you really need to know the name of the games you want if they’re not there.
That said, pairing a controller to the Google TV Streamer is easy, just pair a Bluetooth controller and you’re off and racing – and if you’re interested, even though it’s a 2013 release, Riptide GP2 still slaps.
If you can’t find an app in Google Play, you can side-load them though the process is still hidden behind developer options – though once unlocked, you can side-load any APKs you need using cloud storage like Google Drive and a File Manager, or apps like the Send Files to TV app that you install on your phone and TV Streamer….or from a thumb drive.
‘A thumbdrive’? I hear you ask. Yes, it’s easy to add. I simply added in a USB Type-C Hub with PD support to the back of the Google TV Streamer and then plugged the power into that. I now have a few USB Type-A and Type-C ports, allowing me to plug in a webcam (Works great on Google Meet) and a USB drive for those ‘family’ movies I like to keep backed up.
Hardware and Design
TV Streamer
The new design is a departure from the previous Chromecast models, which were cheaper, and hid away behind the TV. The new Google TV Streamer is designed to sit out in the open with a new, sleek pill-shaped design with a gentle slope that’s relatively unobtrusive under your TV.
While I don’t mind the new design, I find it odd that Google is only offering the TV Streamer in Porcelain, given the CCwGTV – which is hidden behind the TV – came in White, Blue and Coral colour options. Google sells it in a darker Hazel colourway in the US. It’s sleek in both colours and it would be nice to see the Hazel launching here at some stage.
The unobtrusive design of previous Chromecasts hidden away behind the TV, will certainly be missed as will the cheaper price of previous Chromecasts. The $159 price tag moves the Google TV Streamer into a more premium category and that does mean new features.
The CCwGTV is about half the size of the TV Streamer – and as Scott pointed out a little 3M tape and it can easily be mounted behind the TV, but it sits fairly unobtrusively on the entertainment unit.
The CCwGTV was a breath of fresh air for the Google TV platform, offering a leanback experience with a launcher for apps and even a remote. Unfortunately, an underwhelming processor, lack of storage and memory means that it’s often slow and you have to balance the number of apps installed.
The Google TV Streamer fixes these concerns with a processor that’s 22% faster and includes double the RAM of the 4K CCwGTV and a big jump in storage to 32GB.
The spec bump has made the Google TV Streamer quite pleasant to use. It’s now smooth to use and launches apps quickly. By comparison, the Shield TV (2019) is still faster but it’s a marked improvement over previous Chromecasts. I also had great fun installing every streaming service, as well as a fair few games with no fear of having to uninstall apps.
While Google has included a Thread Border router, they’ve disappointingly only included Wi-Fi 5 support on the TV Streamer. Given Google sells the Nest Wi-Fi Pro router with Wi-Fi 6E support, it’s disappointing not to get the tri-band support.
What the TV Streamer does have is a wired ethernet jack, allowing for hardwired connections to your network. Google previously sold an ethernet connector separately, so it’s great to see this now built-in for more stable connections.
The USB Type-C port offers a way to expand your storage with the addition of a USB hub with PD charging support. I could plug in USB drives to watch videos or side-load apps, as well as plugging in a webcam to use with Google Meet.
The rear panel also includes a button to help find your remote. You can hold the button down for a few seconds and your remote will start chirping – and it’s loud enough to be heard from underneath the couch cushions.
You can also trigger the remote alert from the Google Home app or simply by asking your Nest Speaker to find your remote. It seems a missed opportunity you can’t see the Chromecast remote in your ‘Find My Devices’ app as well, but there’s plenty of ways to track down your remote now.
Lastly, the base. It’s not going to be something you’ll look at often but there’s a nice cushioned rubberi pad on the base with the Google ‘G’ logo in the centre which sits nicely on other electronics or woodwork without leaving a mark.
Remote
The Chromecast with Google TV remote has always been too small. There. I said it! The new remote on the Google TV Streamer is much better, with the larger size making it more comfortable to hold.
The larger remote is still powered by two AAA batteries, which are included in the box. The larger design allows for a new layout, with the volume rocker now on the front which is far easier to use.
I also love the new custom button which replaces the input/source button on the last remote which saw minimal use from me. I’ve tied the custom button to the new Google Home panel – but you have a choice to select whatever you want.
Software
The Google TV Streamer is the first to embed Android 14, a real update from the Android 12 on the Chromecast with Google TV.
The update was announced earlier this year at Google I/O, and brings with it improvements to things including accessibility and performance, as well as picture-in-picture mode support.
The update has changed the settings layout, so you’ll need to dig to find some things there – but overall, the general layout of Google TV is the same as it’s ever been with the list of suggested contents right up front.
The ‘For You’ tab is a mix of content discovery, apps and search. You’ll spend most of your time on this tab, flicking between content, or jumping into apps to find the things you want.
I generally ignore the suggested content – though I’ve admittedly seen some quality suggestions previously which has prompted me to click in the past, so the Google algorithm works. Unfortunately it also suggests content for services I don’t subscribe to (Stan, Paramount+) – even if their apps aren’t installed – and while you can say you aren’t subscribed to them, it will only show you ‘less’ suggestions for them.
The TV and Movie content tabs offer more options if you don’t know what to watch. The apps tab is where you’ll find your installed apps and a little bit of content discovery – and, if you have any purchased content from Google you’ll find it on your Library tab.
You can choose to go down the path of installing your own launcher and get a clean view if you want – but if you’re ok with ignoring the advertised content the launcher is intuitive and easy to use.
A new feature on the Google TV Streamer is that Google Home Panel – giving you access to your smart home gear. While it’s not likely you’ll want to do too much here – it is a novelty to set the robot vacuum cleaner off from the TV.
What I DO use the Google Home Panel for is fast access to cameras – though my third party options were slow to sync, my Nest cameras and Doorbell were super-fast and getting notifications for the doorbell through the TV Streamer is excellent.
Google AI
There’s AI powered features, with Assistant doing some work, and of course Google’s Gemini is on-board, as with the rest of their stable of devices this year.
Assistant
On the Google TV Streamer, Assistant can be called to do a number of functions by asking it. I’ve become quite accustomed to holding down the voice search button on the remote to do things or find stuff. You can find content including action or comedy movies, relaxing music, or yoga videos. It can also find your photos: ‘Hey Google, find my photos taken at Disneyland’, or just play the news.
You can also get responses to sports scores, your calendar – or look up the weather which comes up with a gorgeous big tile showing the forecast.
It’s easy to forget with all that content being advertised that you can just use the remote to find essentially anything by holding the Microphone button down.
You can hold the mic to say ‘Show me ‘Ocean Conservation Namibia’ or ‘Only murders in the building’ and it’ll take you to YouTube for cute seals being rescued, or into Disney+ – though I pin protected my Disney+ and other accounts so you’ll have to enter it first.
The voice navigation is quite good for opening apps though, easily able to get you to YouTube or any other apps.
Gemini
For Gemini, there’s some new features including full summaries, reviews and season-by-season breakdowns of content shown in the content tabs of Google TV.
When you select one of the content tiles you’ll see a couple of options depending on the selection. Some just have a brief summary under the ‘In Short’ tab, while others have ‘Related Content’ and ‘Season Recaps’ under the ‘What it’s about’ tile.
The ‘What People are Saying’ tile will also vary, some showing snippets from professional reviewers you can read on Google reviews, as well as from other sources on the web including reddit – with these reviews including QR codes so you can read them on your own devices. Some will also include an Awards tab to show you which gongs it’s nabbed.
The ‘What you should know’ recommendations are pretty good, offering up rating information for shows – always good to check on the content warnings before letting the kids let loose with a new series, be it Bluey or The Equalizer 3.
The Gemini tiles are quite good, though quite brief and with more consistency of when the options like Season Recaps and Related Content appear, though as it’s AI generated, it may just be a matter of wait and see.
Should you buy one?
For those who haven’t read Trevor’s first look at the TV Streamer, he’s nailed it. The Chromecast with Google TV should have been the TV Streamer, and this should be the TV Streamer Pro.
The Google TV Streamer is fast, fluid and streams essentially everything you can think of, and has the benefit of Matter support.
That said, killing the CCwGTV in favour of the more expensive, and admittedly more feature rich TV Streamer is a mistake when they would make a great family of devices with a price point to suit almost everyone.
Unfortunately the writing’s on the wall for the CCwGTV, and if you do want to get into the Google TV eco-system with a Google device it’s the TV Streamer or start scrambling to find stock of the cheaper Chromecast with Google TV models in stores as stock levels are getting quiet spotty on the Google Store.
From the perspective of a streaming device though, the Google TV Streamer nails it. It’s faster, has more storage and Matter will one day matter and having this as a very compact Thread Border Router in your living room will be a boon for the smart home.
You can get your hands on the Google TV Streamer through the Google Store, or through local retailers for $159 in Porcelain White.
Daniel has been talking about, learning about and using tech since he was able to toggle switches and push buttons. If it flashes, turns on or off or connects he wants to use it, talk about it and learn more about it. Like this article? Buy me a coffee!
