Built from published evidence: the Google TV Streamer is the set-top box for Google Home households — 4K Dolby Vision and Atmos, 32 GB of storage, plus a Thread border router and Matter hub with a Home panel. The price hike to $149.99 stings, and reviewers document real software rough edges. Check the current price on Amazon.
— THE VERDICT · JUDGEANY EDITORSGoogle killed the Chromecast to build this. The Google TV Streamer arrived in September 2024 at $99.99 — the company's first true set-top box — with a processor Google says is 22% faster than the Chromecast with Google TV, double the RAM at 4 GB, and four times the storage at 32 GB. Tom's Guide gave it 90/100 and an Editor's Choice, The Verge gave it 9/10, and both reviews landed on September 23, 2024, each calling it Google's best streaming box yet. Two years on, the hardware hasn't changed — but the price has: Google raised it to $149.99 in August 2026, blaming "rising component costs" in a statement reported by Android Police.
Hardware and performance
Digital Trends lists a MediaTek MT8696 under the hood — Google itself never named the chip — next to 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, 26 GB of it user-accessible. That is double the memory and four times the storage of the Chromecast with Google TV, and it fixes the old box's worst habit: running out of room for apps. The Verge found the Streamer faster than older Chromecast hardware but less responsive than some premium streaming rivals. 9to5Google's long-term review, published June 2025, is the dissent worth reading: the box is not lag-free, it locked up a few times during testing, and apps sometimes need a full refresh after a cold start. The same review called $99 too much and put the fair price at $50–60. For the long haul, Google promises at least five years of automatic security updates from the date of first sale on the US Google Store.
Picture and sound
The format checklist is complete: up to 4K HDR at 60 fps with Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG, plus Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos — all per Google's spec page. Google also advertises spatial audio with Pixel Buds Pro and grouping with Nest speakers. Android Police's review judged the streaming picture great, and the gigabit Ethernet port on the back is the practical answer to the spec sheet's one wireless gap: the Streamer is Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) only, with no Wi-Fi 6 or 6E — a con Engadget flagged at launch. Wire it up and the omission stops mattering.
Smart home hub
This is the Streamer's real pitch. A built-in Thread border router and Matter controller turn the box into a smart-home hub, and Google TV puts a Home panel for lights, thermostats, and cameras on the biggest screen in the house. The Verge's review called it the only Google Home hub with Matter, Thread, Ethernet, voice control, and smart display functions in one package. One long-term owner, writing for MakeUseOf in August 2026, pulled a $40 dedicated hub out of his network closet because the Streamer had taken over its job — the device "works as a smart home hub first and a streaming box second." The counterweight is Digital Trends' Phil Nickinson, who found the Home panel's camera handling genuinely thin: cameras appear in favorites even when off, they can't be toggled from the TV, asking the remote to "turn on the pool camera" pulls up YouTube videos, and Nest doorbell notifications arrive with a seven-second delay showing a squeezed time-lapse-style preview — "a pretty worthless experience," in his words. 9to5Google adds a slower-burn caveat: several Home features that launched as Streamer exclusives have since rolled out to other Google TV hardware.
Remote, software and Gemini
The redesigned remote is one of the best-reviewed parts of the package: larger buttons, a customizable key for a favorite app or the Home panel, dedicated YouTube and Netflix buttons, and a find-my-remote ringer — press the button on the back of the box or ask Google, and the remote rings, per Google Support. It runs on two included AAA batteries and drives the TV, soundbar, or receiver over Bluetooth and IR. On software, Gemini features sit on top of Google TV: AI-curated recommendations across subscriptions, full show summaries and season-by-season breakdowns, and generative-AI ambient-mode screensavers. Android Police's reservation is worth keeping: the Google TV experience here "isn't much different than what you'll get anywhere else," and the recommendation-heavy home screen stays crammed with content. And one practical omission: the box ships without an HDMI cable — Google requires a certified HDMI 2.1 cable, sold separately, a con Engadget listed at launch.
Who should buy it
Buy the Streamer if your home runs on Google Home and you want the first-party box that streams and hubs: 4K Dolby Vision and Atmos, 32 GB of storage, gigabit Ethernet, a Thread border router, and Matter control with a Home panel on the TV. Skip it if you only need cheap streaming — onn 4K Pro covers the Google TV essentials for a fraction of the price, adds Wi-Fi 6 and hands-free voice mics, and 9to5Google's long-term review recommends it outright. The honest math is that this was an easy recommendation at the original $99.99; at $149.99, after Google's August 2026 price hike, it reads as a hub-first purchase where the streaming is almost the bonus. This box has swung from $74.99 to $149.99 over its life, so check the current price on Amazon before deciding.