Google Chromecast with Google TV (4K)

Chromecast with Google TV, on a dongle in Snow. It plugs into an HDMI port, runs off USB-C, and puts 4K HDR at 60 frames a second on the screen with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos passed through to a soundbar or receiver.

• The home screen is what separates Chromecast with Google TV from a plain stick
• It is still a Chromecast
• The kids profile is a real one
• Read this about the power supply
• Picture, sound and the remote

The home screen is what separates Chromecast with Google TV from a plain stick

Google TV gathers what is on Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+ and the rest into one list, so the question becomes what to watch rather than which app to open first. A watchlist you build on your phone during the day is waiting on the television in the evening. Every other streaming stick makes you remember which service has the thing you half remember hearing about; this one does not.

It is still a Chromecast

Anything you cast from a phone or a laptop still casts, exactly as it always did, which is worth knowing if the household already has that habit. So you get the casting you were used to plus a proper interface and a remote, rather than having to choose between them.

The kids profile is a real one

Its own avatar and theme, parental controls, and a watching limit that ends the session rather than relying on somebody enforcing it. On a shared family television that is more useful than any picture specification, and it is set up once.

Read this about the power supply

It runs off USB-C and the 5 V 1.5 A adapter in the box is required, not optional. People habitually plug streaming dongles into the USB socket on the back of the television, and that socket cannot supply enough current here. It will appear to work and then behave strangely under load. Use the adapter and a mains socket.

Picture, sound and the remote

Up to 4K HDR at 60 frames a second with Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos passed through to a soundbar or receiver. 2 GB of memory and 8 GB of storage, on 802.11ac at 2.4 and 5 GHz. The voice remote has Google Assistant on a button and controls the television own power and volume, so one remote does the job, and two AAA batteries are included. Colour is Snow.

On Amazon rather than Google, the Fire Stick 4K is the equivalent, and for an Apple household the Apple TV 4K. Wikipedia keeps the Chromecast range history.