As soon as the new Onn Android TV box arrived at Walmart, we were immediately intrigued. Armed with the new Android TV UI which pulls heavily from the already excellent Google TV UI and absolutely mind-blowing price tag, there was already a good chance we were happy with this streaming dongle. Upon closer inspection after taking it out of the box, it turns out that this streaming device is better than expected and not just for the price.
From a hardware point of view, there is not much to say about the Onn Android TV box. It’s a little black box that has an HDMI port on one side and a micro USB port on the other. There is 8GB of storage and 2GB of RAM inside, very similar to the internals of the new Chromecast. And, just like the Chromecast with Google TV, this device isn’t meant to be placed on a table or in plain view. Instead, it’s meant to hang on the back of your TV and stay out of sight. So when it comes to hardware, the real difference between this box and the new Chromecast comes down to the remote.
Google has a specification that the new Android / Google TV remotes are to be built with and this new Onn box is sticking to that. It will even work with the Chromecast if you want it to. Additions are welcome too, adding a bookmark, live TV, settings, up / down channels, Disney + and HBO Max buttons to the layout we have with the Chromecast remote. I also much prefer the shape and feel of this remote because its shape doesn’t slide off my hand as often.
Once started, the new Android TV interface looks quite familiar if you use the Chromecast with Google TV. It’s not exactly the same layout, but Google has radically changed the way we navigate Android TV and I think it’s a big change from what it used to be. Ultimately, the content gets preferential treatment and is presented in an interesting way, just like we see on the new Chromecast.
It’s the price that matters
So, at the end of the day, if you get similar specs, a better remote, a similar user interface, and an overall experience similar to the Chromecast with Google TV, the differences really boil down to the price. The Onn Android TV starts at $ 24.99 for the Full HD version and goes up to $ 29.99 for the 4K version. Yes, you read that right. This streaming box costs about half of what you would pay for the already inexpensive Chromecast with Google TV.
So if everything is relatively the same in use, shouldn’t the price dictate the purchase? Not always, but in this case the answer is a definite yes. We’ve been using the Onn Android TV here at the office for a solid week and to be honest I haven’t really missed the Chromecast. They do the same, I like the remote on the Onn box better, and the price is just staggering. As of now, I see no reason why I wouldn’t recommend this device as the go-to streaming dongle for almost everyone.
Buy Onn Android TV from Walmart
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