This $30 streamer is the Google TV Chromecast replacement I need

When Google moved on from Chromecast to Google TV it left a glaring gap. As imperfect as it was, the $50 price made it an affordable way to get a reliable Google TV streaming device — much more than the $100 Google TV streamer, which is the only streaming device Google currently sells.

Thankfully, Walmart’s new OWN 4K Streaming Stick is ready to fill that gap. The $30 dongle will offer affordable, simple streaming for those emotionally committed to Google TV, and for that crowd, it could be perfect.

The ONN 4K Streaming Stick hasn’t officially launched, but all signs point to an imminent release. This is a no-frills 4K streaming stick (as the name suggests) that runs Google TV. In other words, it plugs into an HDMI port, connects to Wi-Fi, and drops users into the familiar Google TV interface — with app support, recommendations, and built-in casting.

Like other Google TV devices, it will pull my go-to apps from the Play Store and display shows and movies across all services, so I’m not constantly switching between them. This will let me flip through The Pit on Max to Paradise on Hulu to whatever Netflix is ​​pushing this week with minimal effort. For me (and anyone using my TV), this is really what I want from a streamer.

Under the hood, the hardware is what I would expect for the price (and importantly, no worse). The ONN 4K Streaming Stick has a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor, paired with a Mali G57 GPU, along with 2GB of RAM (up from 1.5GB on the previous model) and 8GB of storage. It’s not particularly powerful, but it should be enough for intuitive navigation and everyday streaming. At this price, I’m looking for convenience, not perfection.

To that end, the in-box experience also keeps things simple. Based on images shared by a user who got an early look at the device at Walmart, the package includes everything you need to get up and running, from a remote to a proper power adapter for a tight setup to an HDMI extender that saves you some of the headaches you’ll find with ultra-cheap streamers.

On the feature side, the images list 4K playback, Dolby Atmos support, dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz with MIMO), Google Cast, and Gemini Voice Control. It’s essentially the same basic experience I’ve come to expect from more expensive devices like modern Chromecasts. The jump to 4K fixes one of the biggest limitations of Walmart’s older On Stick, which was capped at 1080p, and puts it more in line with the much older Chromecast with Google TV.

In short, the new OnN Streaming Stick offers the features that really matter to me with relatively few compromises, all at a very good price. You know – just like Chromecast with Google TV.

Of course, it’s still a $30 streaming stick, and that usually comes with trade-offs. Cheap hardware has a habit of making a good impression before slowing down as updates accumulate and the storage fills up. And yet, this is exactly the type of device that doesn’t need to be over-distributed. Even as more TVs and projectors come with Google TV, it doesn’t necessarily make cheaper streamers redundant.

Built-in platforms may also be poorly out-of-date, lag behind in updates, or feel inconsistent across devices. The $30 stick is an easy reset and one I can turn to to update my TV without a big financial commitment. There’s no shortage of cheap streaming sticks, but most run Roku or Fire TV instead of Google TV. I’m already in Google’s ecosystem, so a Google TV with Cast support seems more cohesive — and at $30, it’s a worthwhile difference.

In particular, this is the type of purchase that makes the most sense on a secondary TV such as for a bedroom, guest room, or older set that needs a refresh.. It’s cheap enough for an impulse-buy, able to keep my downtime stress-free, and easy to replace in a few years – more or less what we had with the original Chromecast PlayBook and Chromecast with Google TV.

Google shows no signs of launching a new Chromecast with Google TV anytime soon, and we shouldn’t hold our breath for that to change. Is that annoying? Sure. But if the OWN 4K Streaming Stick is as good as it’s made out to be, none of that matters.