OPINION: There’s a new streaming device from Google and it’s called… Google TV Streamer. 10 out of 10 for the fantasy.
Sarcasm aside, the Google TV streamer marks the end of the Chromecast line, which has been around since 2013. Like the Amazon Fire TV sticks, the Chromecast series was part of the first wave that brought streaming video and audio into the living room.
Even though we’ll miss the Chromecast devices, I wonder if we really need yet another streamer from Google. And my answer would be: “Not really.”
Aside from the clunky name, Chromecast with Google TV was a perfectly good streamer. We gave it 4.5 stars and found it to be a fantastic option for anyone in the Google ecosystem.
The Google TV Streamer is a bit odd at first glance because while it’s definitely a streamer, that’s not the only reason for its existence. As is usual with Google, it’s an attempt to add more functionality and connectivity in your home by also acting as a smart home hub for Google Home and Matter devices.
But I don’t really care. When I’m looking for a streamer, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. Although the house I live in has some level of smart connectivity, I’m not the kind of person who cares what spin cycle the washing machine is doing and would rather check that on my TV. I’ll just take a quick look the next time I’m in the kitchen.
What amazes me, though, is that Google TV is present on several TVs from Sony, Philips and TCL. So Google TV already has a growing presence in the UK market. On top of that, TVs are getting smarter every year. We have Roku TVs, TiVo, Fire TV, LG webOS, Samsung Tizen – they’re all very capable and probably have all the apps you’ll ever need or be able to subscribe to.
What will a Google TV streamer add to the discussion?
Well, it seems this streamer is putting AI at the forefront, with Gemini at the center. Google says it will use AI and “your preferences” to aggregate content suggestions across all your subscriptions – although that sounds like exactly what streamers have been doing for years.
Now, however, “you can get full recaps, reviews, and breakdowns of content by season, making it even easier for you to find your next binge-watching series,” which, to my ears and eyes, pretty much ruins the experience of watching a series for the first time.
I can’t really understand why we need a new Google streamer. It doesn’t feel like it does anything particularly different – that’s one of the problems I found with the last Fire TV Stick Max: aside from being faster, the AV performance was virtually the same.
The gains seem marginal, and from what I can tell, the Google TV Streamer features changes that make it less of a streamer and more of a smart hub (it falls into the “Google Nest” category on the Google blog), at a higher price.
I’d be happy to be proven wrong about the Google TV streamer, but so far it sounds uninspiring and just like another attempt to put AI into another device just for the sake of AI.
