The new Streamer handles 4K HDR with Dolby Vision, supports Dolby Atmos passthrough, and runs on faster hardware than its predecessor, which sounds like a baseline expectation but wasn’t always a given with Google’s streaming hardware. Those days of diminished expectations are gone with this model, which runs 22% faster than the Chromecast and has twice the memory. App switching, interface loading, and storage are among the much-needed improvements that come with the Streamer 4K.
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Tons of Freebies
Beyond your paid subscriptions, the Google TV Streamer pulls in 800-plus free channels through Pluto TV, Tubi, and similar services directly from the interface. That’s a reduction in the monthly spend for anyone who’s been paying for a streaming service just to have background content. The more useful addition is the unified watchlist: If you flag something interesting on your phone, in a browser search, or in a mobile app, it gets added to your TV queue automatically. That cross-device continuity is something Roku and Fire TV still don’t handle as cleanly.
Video comes through in 4K HDR with Dolby Vision for compatible content, which is now standard for the category but still worth confirming at this price point. On the audio side, connecting compatible Dolby Atmos speakers or a soundbar gets you genuine 3D spatial audio rather than resampled stereo. The combination holds up well on Apple TV+ and Netflix content where both tracks are routinely available.
