Why I will not be making the bounce from Chromecast to Google TV Streamer

Abstract

• Apple provides higher worth.
• Google must catch up.
• Google TV Streamer might enhance over time.

The Google TV Streamer is Google’s newest foray into the streaming world, and it changed the outgoing Google Chromecast. As any person trying to retire my Chromecast 4K, I considered making the apparent resolution of going for the Streamer, however there have been just a few various things that gave me pause.

Whereas the Google TV Streamer looks like a superbly serviceable machine, I might somewhat not hop onto the primary iteration of one thing, even when it is constructing off the strong Google TV OS. What it largely comes all the way down to, for me not less than, is that Google’s new streamer would not do sufficient to make me wish to depart the acquainted territory of the Apple TV 4K, my favourite streamer available on the market. My present plan is to choose up a more moderen Apple TV 4K and put my getting older first-gen one the place my Chromecast at the moment is. From there, my Chromecast goes right into a field the place it’s going to keep till I get a TV arrange in my basement.

It is not completely Google’s fault, however there are some issues I must see from the corporate earlier than I can totally think about selecting up one other streamer from it.

Apple has higher worth to supply me

And Google floor to make up

Apple has been refining the Apple TV 4K since 2017, and the unique Apple TV dates again even additional than that. Through the years, tvOS has matured into a really strong piece of software program, and it is nonetheless stunning me with new options akin to 21:9 assist.

That is not saying Google cannot get there or is not shut, however as any person who has been rocking a first-gen Apple TV 4K, I do not see the worth in going for Google’s new machine. Value is an enormous issue right here, and at $100, it is actually not that far off from the $130 Apple TV 4K that has just a few extra options.

It is robust to make the leap to a wholly new platform when the value is that shut, and it is even harder when you have got subscriptions by Apple that you would need to cancel and swap over to Google. I perceive that it is one thing it’s important to sit again and take into consideration for those who do not personal any streaming machine, however that is not the case with me.

Pocket-lint’s overview of the Google TV Streamer paints it as underwhelming, however notes that it is an improve over a Chromecast. It is a feature-rich product that helps all the trendy HDR codecs, the audio codecs, and streams in 4K. For most individuals, it does all the pieces you’d need.

If you happen to’re already within the Google ecosystem, a Google TV Streamer is smart, and the identical goes for Apple homeowners going for an Apple TV 4K.

It’d get higher over time

Timing is all the pieces

Whereas I do not assume the Google Streamer has a spot in my house at the moment, that does not imply it will not ever. Not like another Google merchandise that weren’t given the possibility to mature, Google would not seem prone to abandon the streamer. This implies issues that Apple is forward with, like 21:9 ultra-wide assist because of a late 2024 replace, could possibly be within the playing cards for Google.

Sadly for Google, that point just isn’t proper now. So long as Apple provides a aggressive worth with Google, I do not see a motive to ditch the Apple TV 4K. This hole might widen much more if Apple decides to come back out with a streaming stick to pair with the prevailing Apple TV, however that is a dialogue for an additional day. It took me some time, however I’ve come to understand the Apple interface, and I do not actually really feel like ditching it to be taught one thing yet again.

The hope I’ve is that Google offers this machine time to construct up an viewers, one thing that is not all the time the case with the corporate — Stadia being an instance. Contemplating how Chromecast caught round for so long as it did, I’ve religion Google will hold constructing on the muse of the Streamer.

How the Google Streamer can win me over

Hope just isn’t misplaced

Earlier than I grabbed an Apple TV 4K, I had by no means owned a single Apple product, and I by no means actually thought of getting one. What gained me over was Dolby Atmos on Apple Music. I used to be on the lookout for a service that might present what my encompass sound setup was able to, and it did simply that. To place it merely, I used to be gained over by Apple because of options nothing else had.

There might come a time when Google has a characteristic that I am unable to miss, however that is not the case proper now. I am unable to consider a lot the Google Streamer does that the Apple TV 4K would not. I am not an individual with numerous model loyalty, and I will go along with no matter the perfect product is.

I nonetheless do not personal one other Apple product, though I might profit enormously from an iPhone or iPad with my Apple TV.

The purpose is, there could be some form of characteristic added to the Streamer, one which I am unable to even consider in the mean time, that may show to be a tipping level. That is additionally a state of affairs the place the cheaper price might turn out to be useful. From the place I am sitting, there simply would not appear to be an enormous motive for me to ditch Apple and go to Google, even when I am shopping for a second machine.

Whereas it isn’t an enormous deal for me, the Apple TV 4K having extra storage than the Google TV Streamer is an enormous promoting level for lots of people. Google might simply make up floor there with a future iteration, nevertheless it’s one other instance the place Apple comes forward.

I am not right here to yuck on anybody’s yum, and for those who picked up the Google machine that you simply’re proud of, then there’s nothing to fret about. I am certain it is a completely effective little machine that does what you ask of it. The massive factor giving me pause is the pricing, and if Google might slash it down a bit extra, or add extra options to it, then I might give it one other look.