Google TV Streamer is one part entertainer, one part Matter smart home hub

Google is going upmarket with the $100 Google TV Streamer, a new combination set-top box and smart home hub that replaces the company’s cheaper Chromecast with Google TV dongles.

Compared to the Chromecast devices, the Google TV Streamer has double the RAM (4GB) and quadruple the storage (32GB), along with a faster processor. Google has also added a remote finder function and a programmable button to the remote, and it’s moved the volume rocker to the top surface instead of the side. The streamer doubles as a smart home hub for Matter and Google Home as well, complete with a Thread border router for controlling compatible lights, switches, and other components.

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best media streamers and the best smart home systems.

Google will discontinue the Chromecast with Google TV 4K and HD after selling through its remaining inventory. Shalini Govil-Pai, VP and GM for Google TV, said Walmart’s Onn devices are already meeting demand for cheaper Google TV devices—indeed, the $20 Onn 4K Streaming Box and $50 Onn 4K Pro are great value streamers—and so the company wanted to offer a more premium alternative.

“We’re trying to take the market up a notch,” Govil-Pai said.

Speed with a side of smart home control

In some ways, the Google TV Streamer is a lateral step from Walmart’s $50 Onn 4K Pro. Both devices run the same Google TV software, and both support 4K video, Dolby Vision HDR, and Dolby Atmos audio. Google’s box has more RAM (4GB, vs. 3GB on Walmart’s box), but it lacks a USB-A accessory port. On the other hand, Google’s streamer has a 1Gbps ethernet port, compared to the Walmart’s 100Mbps port.

In lieu of new streaming capabilities, Google is leaning on smart home controls as a standout feature. The Google TV Streamer will debut a smart home control panel in the right sidebar of the home screen, where you can adjust lights or view live camera feeds; and as before, you’ll be able to control smart home functions through the voice remote as well.

The Google TV Streamer will also work as a hub for Matter, a nascent smart home standard that promises to unite the various smart home ecosystems, including Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings. Matter also lets you control devices on your home network without relying on an internet connection. Google’s new device works as a Thread border router as well, allowing it to connect with Matter lights, switches, and other smart home devices that use Thread instead of Wi-Fi for connectivity.

While Matter has struggled to gain traction with users and device makers, Govil-Pai hopes devices like the Google TV Streamer will help raise awareness and prepare users for future Matter devices.

“I do believe that this is the time that we have to start investing and making sure the hardware is ready, so that in a year or two as this gets more mainstream, and it’s not just for nerds like you and me, that it will be there ready for them,” she says.

Just a little AI

Specs aside, the most interesting thing about the Google TV Streamer is how it’s somewhat detached from Google’s efforts to reinvent itself around generative AI.

After years of pushing Google Assistant as an ambient helper on phones, smart speakers, and streaming devices, the company is pivoting to a new assistant called Gemini, built on large language models that can generate novel text on the fly. Google’s been cramming Gemini into every cranny of its Android mobile operating system and shoehorning it into products like Gmail and Google Search, even when the results have been demonstrably worse than what Google had before.

So it’s refreshing to hear Govil-Pai pump the brakes on Google’s AI overhaul, at least as it applies to streaming. At launch, you’ll see “powered by Gemini” descriptions of movies and videos when you click on them, incorporating audience reviews, awards, and other info. You’ll also be able to generate custom wallpapers to use instead of actual artwork or Google Photos albums.

You won’t, however, be able to converse with Gemini, as the Google TV Streamer’s core voice controls will still be governed by Google Assistant. That’s probably for the best, given that Gemini doesn’t know how to launch a videos or play music—both things you might want to do on a streaming device.

Govil-Pai said we may eventually see a blend of Gemini and Google Assistant on streaming players. Future Google TV devices, for instance, may have far-field microphones for chatting with AI when the television is off, but she notes that Assistant is already good at understanding TV-related commands, and there’s no need to take that away from people.

“My viewpoint is always that technology is here to solve a pain point, and if we have pain points solved in certain ways, we don’t necessarily need to recreate it,” she says.

Tough competition

Google’s move upmarket is overdue, as every other streaming platform offers higher-end hardware for those who want it. While Nvidia’s Shield TV previously occupied that role for Google’s Android TV platform, it’s now more than five years old and getting harder to recommend by the day.

Still, the competition in this area is pretty fierce already–at least on the entertainment side of the coin:

• The Roku Ultra costs the same $100, but its remote has two programmable buttons instead of one, hands-free voice control, and a headphone jack for private listening.
• The third-generation Apple TV 4K, at $129, is the speediest streaming box you can buy, and it’s the only one that doesn’t lard up its home screen with banner ads. A model with an integrated Thread border router for compatible Matter devices cost $20 more.
• Amazon’s Fire TV Cube is pricier at $140 but has unparalleled hands-free voice control.
• Walmart’s $50 Onn Google TV 4K Pro is pretty great for half the price of Google’s box, albeit without the same smart home hub features.

We’ll have more to say on how the Google TV Streamer stacks up once we’ve had a chance to use it.

Don’t miss our other coverage: Google also announced the Nest Smart Learning Thermostat (4th gen), and we take a look at Google’s latest Gemini AI efforts as they relate to the smart home and home entertainment.

And sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV insights.