Google TV Streamer Review: Faster, but also more expensive

The hardware in the Google TV Streamer is an improvement over older Chromecast models, but the new design and higher price may be an issue for some users.

Pros	Cons
Faster response and app loading times	Much more expensive than older Chromecasts
Redesigned remote with larger buttons	Changed remote layout takes some getting used to
Remote finding button is quite handy	Larger size makes it much less portable

Score: 3/5

 

In this review

Google TV Streamer Specifications
Google TV Streamer Design
Google TV Streamer Camera
Google TV Streamer Performance
Google TV Streamer Battery
Google TV Streamer Conclusion

When Google announced that it was discontinuing the Google Chromecast, it’s safe to say that I was not happy.

The Chromecast line heads to the ever-expanding Google Graveyard to make way for the Google TV Streamer, intended to be its improved replacement.

In a number of ways that’s true, and what Google has made here sits as a decent competitor to the likes of the Apple TV or Nvidia Shield TV – not that Nvidia’s take on an Android TV set top box has seen an update in a long, long time.

If you just want an at-home streaming set top box, it’s a very good option, but the higher price and lower portability are issues that Google could have handled a lot better, if only by the simple process of keeping the cheaper Chromecast in its streaming lineup.

Also read:
Which Smart TV set top box should I buy: Google Chromecast vs Amazon Fire TV vs Hubbl vs Apple TV vs NVIDIA Shield vs Fetch Mini

Design

Google’s design aesthetic for the Chromecast was always kind of… blobby for want of a better word, but this largely didn’t matter when you were talking about an HDMI-connected dongle that you typically whacked around the back of the TV (or maybe at the side), because you weren’t looking at it all that much.

The Google TV Streamer is different, because it’s a much larger wedge shaped box that slopes down… because it does. There’s no lights on the front or any design aesthetic reason that I can see for the shape Google has chosen, but if you buy one you’ll want to find somewhere to put it where it’s just a tad more accessible than a Chromecast would be.

That’s because the one feature that Google’s baked into the Google TV Streamer that’s a definite upgrade is the inclusion of a remote finding button.

I can’t say how many times I’ve lost the Chromecast remote in the sofa, because non-imaginary numbers don’t actually go up that high*, so having the ability to press a button and make it chirp until it’s found is quite welcome.

The larger size does make the Google TV Streamer a fair degree less portable than the classic Chromecast, a significant factor if you're travelling, but it's also going to be hard to hide, because unlike the dongle style of the older device, for most TVs it's going to be harder to hide the USB-C charging cable or HDMI cable. Where the older Chromecast had its own HDMI plug, because it was part of the Chromecast itself, here you'l need to supply your own cable to get the Google TV Streamer plugged in.

The other new cable that might be part of your mix is via the inclusion of a gigabit Ethernet port if your streaming runs more to physical cables than Wi-Fi. For that I can accept a larger size and shape, though I still feel like you wouldn’t have had to do that much more to the Chromecast shape for the same end effect.

The included remote control definitely has a little Chromecast DNA in it, but Google’s given it a few growth hormones in its labs. It’s much larger (and should, you’d think, be less easily lost in the sofa, but no…) with the volume controls now having pride of place on the front of the remote.

Bigger, more customisable... but it's still capable of hiding in the sofa. This I have tested extensively.

Google’s also added a customisable button near the bottom of the remote control that can launch Google Home activites, switch TV inputs or launch a specific app shortcut of your choice. I love that this exists, though I do kind of wish that the two buttons above it for YouTube and Netflix were equally customisable.

Nothing against those services, but it’d be great to have full control of my remote and not have parts of it sold off to different concerns, which is 100% what happens with these kinds of branded remote buttons.

One complaint I will make against the Google TV Streamer remote is that while it’s similar to the older Chromecast TV remote, its layout is different with the same sized buttons, which means that my muscle memory is all over the place if I’m trying to make changes on the fly.

If you’re coming from that older model, be ready for a rather steep learning curve, especially around where the home button now sits.

Performance

Setup of the Google TV Streamer is via the Google Home app, and here during my own setup I hit a rather unusual quirk. As it sits as part of Google’s wider hardware ecosystem, I had the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold ready and waiting to handle its setup. Keeping matters in-house would be the easiest way, right?

Not this time it wasn’t.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s Google Home app could see the Google TV Streamer, and it wanted to hook it up to my home Wi-Fi, but every single time it tried that step, it failed, over and over again. I started to wonder if I perhaps had a faulty unit, so I grabbed the nearest other smartphone with Google Home installed to see if it would behave any better.

The nearest other smartphone with Google Home installed was the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

What’s more it worked without a hitch. It’s a truly weird day when the Google app on an iPhone works better with Google hardware than the Google App on the Google Phone… but that’s how it went for setup.

Also read:
Pixel 9 Pro Fold Review

From an interface perspective, there’s very little that will appear different between the older Chromecast devices and the Google TV Streamer, and that’s because they’re both using the Android TV OS, with an interface that mixes between top picks and app selections as well as Movies and TV shows to buy or rent, plus your own library of whatever content you’ve already purchased from Google. While it no longer bears Chromecast branding, casting is also still built in, so you can ping content from phones, tablets and laptops as well.

All of which works fine, and just a smidge faster than on the older 4K Google Chromecast with Google TV device; putting the two side by side saw only a small increase in navigation speed, but the jump in speed for app launching was quite noticeable on the newer Google TV Streamer over the older Chromecast.

While it may not matter for too many users right now, the Google TV Streamer is also Matter certified and can act as a Thread Border Router for compatible smart home devices.

I haven’t yet done extensive testing in that space, though I did try using Google Home directly through the Google TV Streamer, finding that while it worked, at least on first setup it took some time to
actually spot other smart home devices, even Google ones.

Google TV Streamer: Alex’s Verdict

Is the Google TV Streamer a better overall streaming set top box than the Chromecast devices it’s replacing in Google’s lineup?

Technically, yes; it’s a little faster in operation, it’s more flexible with options for Ethernet as well as Wi-Fi and the redesigned remote control is more customisable and easier to use, even if it’s also still just as easy to lose in my sofa. Maybe I have a Sofa of Holding?

However, Google giveth and Google taketh away, because it’s also markedly more expensive at $159.99, and for a lot of users the older Google Chromecast with Google TV would be entirely sufficient for their needs, but Google isn’t opting to continue selling that model.

As I write this the older Chromecast is still available from Google’s Australian store, but that’ll be on a “while stocks last” basis, because it’s already stopped manufacturing new ones.

That leaves the low-cost sub-$100 market to Amazon with its Fire TV sticks, or to an extent to Hubbl with its Hubbl puck device.

It’s a pity, I think, that Google’s abandoning that part of the streaming TV space, because while the Google TV Streamer is a better device than the Chromecast, it’s not some super reimagining of what it can do – it’s just a bit better, that’s all.

Google TV Streamer: Pricing and availability

The Google TV Streamer retails in Australia for $159.99.

The model tested was supplied to me by Google Australia for the purposes of review.

Was this review useful to you? Support independent media by dropping a dollar or two in the tip jar below!

Citation from a suitably qualified mathematician needed; Alex may be exaggerating how often he loses the Chromecast remote in his sofa. Or possibly not.