C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
The Google TV Streamer offer is available from Amazon, while the Nest Audio deal comes from Best Buy. For the Nest Audio, you can choose between the Charcoal and Chalk color models and get the same discounted price. For the Google TV Streamer, Amazon only has it available in Porcelain, but you can also get the Hazel version for the same price straight from Google.
Google TV Streamer
Google TV Streamer
Google’s boldest streaming device ever.
Carrying on the legacy of the Chromecast, the Google TV Streamer brings a sleek new design, more power, a redesigned remote, and smart home hub features to Google TV.
We gave the Google TV Streamer a very favorable review, and there isn’t really much we can complain about. Mainly, the only negatives are that it has no expandable storage, there is no HDMI cable included in the box, and it’s only available in two colors.
Everything else about this Google TV set-top box is quite remarkable. Google may have killed the Chromecast line-up, and the Google TV Streamer is both more expensive and larger, but it offers a healthy amount of upgrades to make up for everything.
Let’s start with performance, which gets a nice boost thanks to the MediaTek MT8696 processor, which is 22% faster than the Chromecast with Google TV’s. It also gets 4GB of RAM, which may not seem like much, but the Chromecast with Google TV only had 2GB. Even storage got an upgrade to 32GB instead of 8GB.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
The general look is very similar, featuring an oval look and matte colors, with a super minimalist look. Of course, the main difference here is that it’s much bigger, and isn’t meant to hide in the back of your TV. It will instead live in plain view, somewhere around your TV, on a flat surface.
Aside from the design differences and performance improvements, the experience will be very similar. You’ll get the same Google TV UI and access to the Google Play Store. You can download all your favorite apps and streaming services to enjoy on the bigger screen. Of course, it also has Google Cast support, so you can beam from supported apps and devices directly.
A nice little extra feature is that it has Google Home support, so you can control your smart home devices straight from the TV. It even has Thread and Matter support, so it works as a hub. The remote is very similar, too. It is slightly bigger, but we actually like that as it makes it more ergonomic and easier to find. Especially since Google also added Find My Remote functionality to make it chirp upon request.
Google Nest Audio
Google Nest Audio
Get cozy and nestle up with Google’s latest smart speaker.
Nest Audio is an approachable, entry-level smart speaker for the minimalist music lover. This compact speaker produces excellent audio quality for its size, and is a great jack-of-all-trades. Google Assistant and Chromecast integration make it easy to set reminders, make inquiries, stream your favorite podcasts, and more. For under $100, the Nest Audio speaker is a great value.
The Google Nest Audio is great for requesting random information from Google Assistant, controlling your smart home devices, solving math problems, setting up alarms, starting timers, playing music, and much more.
We love its minimalist design, which is now very characteristic of Google devices. It will look great anywhere, and blends seamlessly in any environment.
Lil Katz / Android Authority
The sound quality is also quite outstanding, at least for a speaker of this size. It definitely beats the Amazon Echo 4th Generation, which is its main competitor. I own both and always gravitate towards the Google Nest Audio when I want to listen to music.
Google Assistant powers this device, so you’ll enjoy all the smart features it has to offer. It also has Chromecast support, in case you want to beam music to it.
Again, Google devices are rarely on sale, so you might want to take advantage of these deals as soon as possible.
