Do we really need another Google TV streamer?

OPINION: There’s a new Google streaming device and it’s called… the Google TV Streamer. 10 out of 10 points for imagination there.

Snark aside, the Google TV Streamer marks the end of the Chromecast line-up, which has been going on since 2013. Like the Amazon Fire TV sticks, the Chromecast series was part of the first wave to bring streaming video and audio to the living room.

So while the Chromecast devices will be missed, my question is whether we really need another streamer from Google? And my answer would be “not really”.

Clunky name aside, the Chromecast with Google TV was a perfectly fine streamer. We awarded it 4.5 stars and noted that it was a fantastic option for anyone in the Google ecosystem.

The Google TV Streamer is, on the surface, an odd one as while it most definitely is a streamer, that’s not the only reason for its existence. As per usual from Google, it’s an attempt to add more functionality and interconnectivity within your home by also acting as a smart home hub for Google Home and Matter devices.

But I don’t really care about that stuff. If I’m looking for a streamer, I’m looking for exactly that. While the house I live in has an element of smart connectivity, I’m not the person who cares about what spin cycle the washing machine is doing and feels like checking it on my TV. I’ll just glance at it the next time I’m in the kitchen.

But what does baffle me is that Google TV is present on several TVs from Sony, Philips, and TCL; so Google TV already has a growing presence in the UK market. More than that, TVs have become smarter each year. We have Roku TVs, TiVo, Fire TV, LG webOS, Samsung Tizen – they’re all very capable and likely have all the apps you’ll ever need or can subscribe to.

What’s a Google TV Streamer going to add to the discussion?

Well, it’d seem this streamer is putting AI at the forefront with Gemini taking centre stage. Google says it’ll use AI and “your preferences” to gather content suggestions across all your subscriptions – although that sounds exactly what streamers have been doing for years.

However, now “you can now get full summaries, reviews and season-by-season breakdowns of content, so finding your next marathon-watch just got easier”, which to my ears and eyes, seems like it’s rather spoiling the experience of watching a series for the first time.

I can’t really figure out why we need a new Google streamer. It doesn’t feel like it’s doing anything particularly different – it’s one of the issues I found with the recent Fire TV Stick Max in that aside from being faster, the AV performance was effectively the same.

The gains seem to be marginal, and from what I could tell the Google TV Streamer is emphasising changes that make it less of a streamer and more of a smart hub (it comes under Google Nest category on the Google blog) and at a more expensive price.

I’d like to be wrong about the Google TV Streamer but so far it sounds uninspiring, and just another attempt to integrate AI into another device for AI’s sake.