If you’ve got an older smart TV that can’t keep up with the latest streaming service launches and updates, Walmart may have the perfect cheap upgrade for you: a $20 streaming box powered by Google TV, with support for 4K TVs.
It’s called the Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box, and you can see it at Walmart right here (opens in new tab) if you want to take a look directly.
At this price, it’s less than half of the cost of the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, which was already notable for being pretty damn cheap. And because it’s powered by Google TV, the Onn should be generally very easy to navigate and find what you want, and it should support all the best streaming services, no matter how many new ones appear or change their name to something dumb.
Google TV can also be found (unsurprisingly) on the Chromecast with Google TV, as well as Sony TVs such as the Sony X90K (among others), and is one of the easiest-to-use smart TV platforms – which makes it perfect for something like this.
I imagine the main target for this is, as I mentioned above, people with older 4K TVs who don’t really want to replace them right now, even though the TVs maybe don’t keep up as well as they used to. One of the reasons the Onn box is so cheap is that, while it supports 4K, it doesn’t have any HDR or Dolby Atmos support. But neither did most of the older TVs I’m talking about, so it’s a perfect match.
I should note here that Google TV’s ads and data collection will also be a reason why it’s cheap, so the privacy-conscious may want to consider another option.
Just right for the money-cautious
When it comes to specs and image quality, the Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box clearly isn’t going to knock the Apple TV 4K (2022) off the top of our list of the best streaming devices – and it’s also clearly not trying to.
This is for people who want to be able to easily find what they want to watch in the streaming age (Google TV is very good at bringing things together from multiple services right on the home screen) without buying a whole new television.
The remote has buttons to take you directly to Netflix, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, and YouTube, making it easy in that way too (and, as another factor in keeping the price low, these are likely to have been paid for by the services).
The remote’s layout is pretty simple and typical of streaming remotes, which can also be a big help for people who aren’t used to newer smart TV systems. And it has voice control, though I find that’s pretty hit-and-miss with people – it might make it easier for some people to find things, but a lot of people just don’t want to use it. But still, it’s there.
Basically, I think this looks like an excellent buy for the people it’s intended for, assuming that it actually works smoothly and slickly. We’ll find you a full review as soon as we can – but you can see it at Walmart for $19.88 right now (opens in new tab).
