Streaming · Review
Google TV Streamer (4K)
The little box that quietly out-muscles every streaming stick - and it's the only one with an Ethernet port.
No BS summary
More memory than any Fire stick, plenty of storage, Dolby Vision, and the one thing sticks keep refusing to include: a wired Ethernet port. If your Wi-Fi is even slightly temperamental, this is the most stable 4K streamer you can put under the telly. The home screen tries to sell you things, but the hardware is the best of the bunch and it's still small enough to hide behind the set.
Score: 9/10
Kudos for
- A built-in Ethernet port - the headline feature
- More RAM and storage than any streaming stick
- Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos
- Full Google TV: Play Store apps plus sideloading
- It can actually page its own lost remote
Dropped the ball
- No HDMI cable in the box
- Home screen is a cluttered shop window
- Pricier than a stick - though you get more for it
The bit that matters: it plugs into your router
Every streaming stick on the market asks you to trust your Wi-Fi. The Google TV Streamer doesn't have to - it has a proper Ethernet socket on the back. Run a cable from your router and a high-bitrate 4K stream stops caring whether someone else in the house is on a video call. On our TalkTalk gigabit line, wired, it simply never stuttered.
It's also the brainiest box here on paper: more RAM than any Fire stick and a generous chunk of storage, so it stays quick even with a pile of apps installed. And because it runs full Google TV, you get the Play Store plus the freedom to sideload - it sits on the right side of the same fence the locked-down sticks fall off.
What you're actually buying
This is the box that replaced Google's old Chromecast dongles, and the step up is obvious the moment you use it. Setup is the usual sign-in dance, and then its party trick kicks in: it pulls a "continue watching" row together from across your apps onto one home screen, and it does that better than the Fire and Roku attempts. One mild annoyance - there's no HDMI cable in the box, so if you haven't got a spare, buy one at the same time.
The remote
I judge every streamer's remote on one thing: can you grab it off the arm of the sofa at 11pm and hit the right button without turning a light on? The Google TV remote isn't backlit, so on that test it's no better than the Fire ones. But it has a trick none of them manage - press the button on the box and the remote chirps from wherever it's hiding. After years of Fire remotes vanishing down the side of the sofa for good, being able to make this one shout back nearly sells the whole box on its own. There's a customisable button too, handy for jumping straight into the app you actually use.
Performance in normal use
The best of any small box we've used. Menus are instant, 4K HDR snaps on without the long spinner stare, and wired it's rock solid. Even on Wi-Fi it holds up well thanks to the extra memory, but the Ethernet port is the reason to choose this over a good stick. Plugged into the 65-inch Philips Mini LED, Dolby Vision content looked exactly as it should with no faffing.
The home screen
The honest gripe, and it's the same one everyone has now: the Google TV home screen is busy trying to sell you films and shows you're not paying for. You can tidy it a little, not fully. It's the price of a "free" interface.
Which - yes - we appreciate the irony of moaning about. This site doesn't do that to you: no pop-ups, no auto-playing video, no boxes sliding over the words. Anyway, back to it.
What I'd nick from another box
From the Google TV Streamer, the thing I'd carry over from elsewhere is Roku's dead-simple home screen - a clean grid of your apps and nothing else. Google's insistence on filling the screen with stuff to watch is the one rough edge on an otherwise excellent box. I'd also quietly take the Fire TV Cube's hands-free voice, but that's a luxury, not a gap.
Who should buy this
Anyone whose Wi-Fi is even slightly flaky - the Ethernet port turns "it keeps buffering" into a solved problem. Also anyone who keeps a lot of apps on the go and wants the snappiest small box, or who streams across many services and likes the unified home screen.
Who should skip it
If your Wi-Fi is genuinely rock solid and you just want one or two apps on the cheap, a Fire TV Stick 4K Plus does the core job for a good bit less. You're paying here for power and that Ethernet port - if you'll use neither, save the money.
Specs at a glance
| Resolution | 4K Ultra HD, HDR10+, Dolby Vision |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Google TV (Android-based, sideloading supported) |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM, 32 GB storage |
| Network | Wi-Fi + built-in Ethernet port |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos passthrough |
| Remote | Google TV remote (customisable button, remote-finder) |
| In the box | Streamer, remote, power - no HDMI cable |
Where to buy
Price last checked: [auto-updated once PA-API is live]
View on AmazonFinal word
If you've ever sworn at a buffering wheel, this is the box that ends it - the Ethernet port alone makes it the one I'd recommend to anyone with iffy Wi-Fi. It costs more than a stick, but it's the most capable little streamer you can buy, and it's the one I'd put under my own telly.