Who Needs Chromecast? I Switched To This $20 Google TV Box And Haven’t Looked Back

Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority

A few weeks ago, Google quietly pulled the Chromecast with Google TV from sale in many countries. The move wasn’t exactly a surprise, given that the Google TV Streamer is the company’s current equivalent to the Chromecast. Priced at $100, however, it leaves a noticeable gap in the affordable streaming market that Google’s hardware once dominated. Fortunately, a handful of competitors have stepped in to fill that void, and I bought the $20 Onn 4K Google TV streaming box last year to find out if it can hold a candle to the Chromecast. Surprisingly, it does — and then some.

Onn is Walmart’s store brand, which may immediately raise red flags in your mind, but stick with me and I’ll explain why this is perhaps the best Google TV streaming box you can buy for $20.

The $20 Chromecast killer

Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority

Walmart sells three Onn-branded Google TV streaming devices, ranging from $15 to $49. The cheapest one comes in a stick-based form factor and doesn’t support resolutions higher than 1080p. However, for just $5 more, you can get the Onn 4K Streaming Box with much better specs across the board. In fact, it’s virtually on par with the now-discontinued Chromecast with Google TV 4K in nearly every metric.

The Onn 4K may look rather unassuming on the surface, but we can’t be picky at this price point. Don’t expect a range of playful colors like the Chromecast, this is just a small black box with a port on either side. But that doesn’t really matter since I’ve hidden it behind my TV anyway. Plus, the Onn 4K packs plenty of punch where it counts.

Even though it’s powered by a slightly older SoC, the Onn 4K can play all of the latest audio and video formats — including the AV1 codec. In other words, you won’t have to buy a new streaming box in a couple of years when YouTube and other streaming services make the move to more efficient video formats. Unlike other cheap Android TV-based streaming boxes, this one has all the certifications necessary for 4K playback in Netflix and other apps.

The Onn 4K supports all of the video formats and certifications used by major streaming apps.

The less-than-ideal SoC doesn’t make itself known while browsing the interface either. I’ve used cheap Google TV boxes that can take a couple of seconds to launch apps or the Google Assistant, but the Onn 4K has remained responsive for the entire six months that I’ve owned it so far. I did notice some slowdowns while navigating the Twitch app, especially with a livestream playing, but that was a rare exception rather than the norm. I didn’t try gaming or emulation, but it’s safe to assume that you should look towards the NVIDIA Shield or the Google TV Streamer if that’s a priority.

To give you an idea of the Onn 4K’s performance, the YouTube app feels faster to navigate than my recent flagship LG OLED TV’s built-in equivalent. It can play back 4K videos at 2x speed without a hiccup too. And I had no problem streaming large movies from my local Plex server, including larger files in the 30 to 35GB range.

Game streaming via Steam Link worked well enough without disconnections or frame drops. However, the lack of Wi-Fi 6 or Ethernet makes the Onn 4K less than ideal for that particular use case.

The Onn 4K’s remote is my favorite of any Google TV box

Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority

The $20 Onn 4K surpasses Google’s much more expensive streaming devices in one key area for me: the physical remote. Specifically, this is the first streaming box remote I’ve owned that includes an infrared blaster as a fallback — handy in case your TV or soundbar doesn’t support HDMI-based control.

My bedroom TV is ten years old and doesn’t support HDMI-CEC, so I’ve always had to rely on its own remote to control power, volume, and input selection. But The Onn 4K’s infrared blaster eliminates the problem, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that its database even includes infrared control codes for my obscure TV brand.

The remote’s built-in infrared blaster is a godsend for older TVs.

The Onn 4K supports HDMI-CEC too, so you don’t have to use infrared if you don’t want to, but it’s a cool value add nevertheless. Not to mention, infrared is especially valuable if you need a Chromecast-like device to plug into hotel TVs. Those typically don’t support HDMI-CEC either.

The remote itself is a delight to use, apart from the forced inclusion of dedicated buttons for Netflix, Disney Plus, and Paramount Plus. However, this annoyance is easily solved with a button remapping app if you’d like to open a different app instead. On a positive note, the remote has received frequent firmware updates. The same goes for the streaming box itself — although it’s still on Android TV 12, it has received the September 2024 security patch level so far. Google TV updates are independent too, and I was recently greeted by a December feature drop banner.

The Onn 4K isn’t perfect, but it comes close

Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority

While the Onn 4K is nearly perfect for my needs, it does have a couple of minor inconveniences. The first limitation you might foresee is the 8GB of built-in storage. This spce is the same as the Chromecast with Google TV, which once attracted a reputation for quickly running out of space. However, it seems to no longer be a problem these days as I still have 3GB of available storage on my personal Onn 4K box. And that’s with most popular apps like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Plex, YouTube, and Apple TV Plus already installed, alongside a couple of game streaming apps too.

The Onn 4K also sacrifices support for fancier formats like Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. If you have a TV or audio gear that can take advantage of these formats, it might be a deal breaker. On the flip side, only a limited number of movies and TV shows are available in these formats. Not to mention, the Onn 4K supports regular HDR10 content.

The Onn 4K lacks luxuries like extra ports and support for premium Dolby formats.

If you’re a power user, you may also dislike the fact that the Onn 4K doesn’t have a USB or Ethernet port. The streaming box is also limited to Wi-Fi 5, so I’ve had to limit my bitrate while game streaming. These are very minor nitpicks at this price range, though, and most won’t notice the lack of these features.

Finally, a word of warning if you live outside the United States: I’m not sure how Walmart manages to sell the Onn 4K at such a throwaway price, but it’s likely a loss leader designed to embellish the brand and get you to shop there more often. Unsurprisingly, then, the retailer began region-locking the device so that you can no longer activate the Onn 4K from outside the United States — without a VPN anyway. Given the excellent value proposition, Walmart has likely realized that the streaming box has become a popular export and wants to clamp down on the practice.

Having said that, the Onn 4K doesn’t enforce any regional restrictions post-activation, so you only need to set it up in the US initially. I’ve used it across several countries over the past few months without running into any problems.

As long as you live in the US, the Onn 4K delivers exceptional value.

While the list of downsides may seem long, these are all only minor annoyances and weren’t enough to nudge me towards more premium options, notably Onn’s own 4K Pro box. Surprisingly, Walmart has disrupted this market segment — the closest competitor is Amazon’s Fire TV stick, which costs $5 more and only supports a maximum display resolution of 1080p. Having used the latter, I feel quite sluggish in comparison to the Onn 4K.

If you’re willing to spend more than twice as much, though, we reviewed the $50 Onn 4K Pro favorably too. It has a faster SoC, an extra gigabyte of RAM, support for Dolby formats, three times as much storage, and dedicated ports for Ethernet and USB drives. The Pro model also doubles up as a smart speaker with a built-in speaker and mic, which you might find valuable. But for a bedroom TV or an older set, I think the $20 model is all you need.

Overall, the Onn 4K is a fantastic product from an unexpected store brand that I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a Chromecast alternative in 2025 and beyond.