The Chromecast With Google TV is the next evolution of the Chromecast Ultra with a remote and better interface. The Chromecast has always been a device to bring content from your phone to the TV but now with a remote and Android interface, you don’t need to have your phone to watch content.

Hardware

The hardware is impressive 8GBs of storage with video capability of 1080p, 4K, and Dolby Vision. Supporting HDMI version 2.1, wireless 802.11ac (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz) and Bluetooth.

I do not like that you need two triple-A batteries for the remote I wish I could charge the remote like Apple has I hate needing batteries.

Setup

If you already have a Google device set up on your network the Chromecast detects that and asks you to open your Google Home app and scan an on-screen QR Code. If you do not have a Google device on your network, you can go through the setup using the remote and connect your wireless and Gmail account manually it’s very simple and an easy setup.

Usage

You can use the device with the new interface with the remote or you can still Chromecast to the device like your used to it’s up to you.

Once you login into all your apps on the device the new Google TV interface breaks down select movies from your services into categories like Action, Drama, Horror, and much more. Google is trying to do the same interface and service aggregation that Apple is trying to do but I do think Google does it a little better since search is their bread and butter from day one of the company. But this also depends on the services working with Google and tagging their content properly. I do see Netflix and Disney+ working well but I do notice Amazon Prime and HBO Max content missing but that may come in time.

Price

Google offers two options one being $49.99 for just the hardware and one Chromecast with Google TV for $89.99. The $89.99 one is the same hardware but come with 6 months of free Netflix and 3 months of subsidized YouTube TV.

I think this is the cheaper point of entry for streaming online content for $50 dollars rather than spending over $150 for an Apple TV HD or $179 for an Apple TV 4K. I do not think the hardware is as good a quality as Apple’s, but the price is better.