Google’s Chromecast with Google TV is a revelation. This streaming device fixes something that wasn’t broken and improves a near-perfect technology in a noticeable way. It’s all thanks to the remote and Google’s “new” software, Google TV. The two together offer a huge improvement in usability over previous Chromecasts, which required you to use your phone or tablet to stream content instead of having an on-screen interface to interact with.
Now that Google has added its own TV interface that you control with a remote, you have instant access to most major streaming services, including Disney Plus, HBO Max, and even the streaming app from its biggest competitor, Amazon Prime Video. There are also a number of apps carried over from Android TV, Google TV’s predecessor, that bring games and productivity apps to the streamer.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]The result is a revamped streaming device that, similar to its predecessors, offers an entirely new, more user-friendly experience for people with a remote control and an easy-to-navigate interface. For that reason, it’s one of our favorites in our guide to the best streaming devices. One in 2021 brought better Dolby Vision playback to some apps, as well as improvements to the streaming device’s storage and security.
As you’d expect from a product with “Google TV” in its name, the new Chromecast is aimed at the Android audience: you use your Google account as the login for the device, and then have access to Google Assistant, YouTube/YouTube TV, the Play Store, Google Photos, and Nest devices if you have them.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first Android TV-based device to integrate Google Assistant – Sony TVs have been using it for years, and it’s even used by the Nvidia Shield – but it feels right at home here. For those worried about privacy, Google Assistant only turns on when the button on the remote is pressed, and you can disable the service directly when you log in with your Google account at launch. The performance of the Chromecast with Google TV is admirable and can keep up with the competition.
Google has stuck with the field hockey puck shape for its Chromecast devices for a few years now, and has done so again with the Chromecast with Google TV. The latest design is a bit more elongated than before, but on the whole it’s pretty similar to its predecessors. Again, you connect the Chromecast to your TV via an HDMI cable and draw power from either a wall outlet or a USB port on your TV…. if you’re lucky.