Ok, so there's no 4K or Dolby Vision but there's still Atmos and HDR in all the other formats, even if the resolution maxes out at 1080p. If, for whatever reason, you would rather save the pennies, then you certainly won't be disappointed with what you find here. Why wouldn't you opt for its bigger brother, even just for the sake of future proofing? The trouble is that the 4K and Dolby Vision-enabled version of the same device, above, is only a tiny bit more expensive. Don't get us wrong, it's very cheap and offers some pretty decent value in isolation. There's very little not to like about this budget streaming stick apart from the price. It’s not worth upgrading if you have the previous model, but if you’re simply looking for the best premium video streamer out there, this is it. There’s a small but noticeable uptick on the audio side too with Dolby Atmos soundtracks and music in terms of weight, spaciousness and cohesion to the soundstage. The blackest blacks are just a little bit blacker, and there's a little extra brightness and vibrancy at the other end. There's marginally more contrast on offer. In terms of performance, the differences are small. There's also a new HDMI 2.1 socket, to add support for 4K HDR content in frame rates of up to 60fps, and compatibility with Apple's spatial audio via AirPods Pro and AirPods Max headphones too.
#Streaming media player upgrade
The other significant upgrade is the processor: Apple has swapped the A10X Fusion chip of the old model for the A12 Bionic, claiming “more realistic games, more lifelike videos, and more immersive sound”. The remote control has been updated but there's very little difference to the physical design otherwise. It took four years to get a new one but this is the latest Apple media streamer.
#Streaming media player full
Read the full Chromecast with Google TV review If you need that, then try Amazon Fire Sticks or the more expensive Apple TV 4K instead. There's still no Apple Music app, though.
#Streaming media player update
The addition of Apple TV and Apple TV+ has been a particularly important update when it comes to improving the 4K HDR PAYG film and TV options. While, natively, it doesn't have quite as many apps as some rivals, you can make up for that by casting anything it doesn't have from your mobile or tablet instead. Top suggestions will always be from streaming services to which you already subscribe, and in top quality where possible, rather than Google trying to sell you content to which you already have access. That's best underlined in the way that it presents search results with an even hand. It's better looking, more intuitive, more searchable and, crucially, excellent at making suggestions of what to watch next. Google TV is the successor to Android TV and has been rolling-out to smart TVs since 2021. While this streamer and the Fire TV Stick 4K are an even match for performance, it's Google's superior operating system that wins the day. Google was in Amazon's media streaming shadow until the arrival of the most recent Chromecast and, specifically, the Google TV user-interface that comes with it.