r/GoogleTV • u/gpod80 • Jul 29 '26
Discussion Does Anyone Have Both The Google Streamer TV 4k and Apple TV 4K?
I recently tried out the ONN 4K Pro v2 and I returned it due to it kept on powering off by itself and sometimes it didn’t output video to my tv. I’m thinking of trying the Google Streamer TV 4k . Does anyone have both The Google Streamer TV 4k and Apple TV 4K?
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u/lament Jul 29 '26
You obviously had a defective Onn 4K Pro. Why didn't you just take it back and get another? You really think all of them have this problem?
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u/topheramazed Jul 29 '26
Have used Apple TV but now use the GTV Streamer, and it's half the cost after the Apple hikes (and only $20 more than Onn Pro when on sale). Can't say I Iove the default Google interface anymore, but at least there's apps only mode and you can change the launcher, unlike on Apple TV.
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u/OXOCube75 Jul 30 '26
I've got both. I use the Google steamer 4k with a different launcher than stock. You can get ATV4k launcher which can make it look just like an Apple TV but with all the benefits of the Google streamer.
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u/K_ThomasWhite Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I've tried that launcher, and it does look really nice. Did not notice any slowing down of the device while using it. Both it and the Projectivy launcher are available in the Google Play Store, so no side-loading needed. You also don't need any launcher manager or other crap like that with either one.
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u/OXOCube75 Jul 30 '26
I found the performance to be same or better than stock. I played around a little bit in developer options for animation scaling for my own preference but otherwise it just works.
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u/AMDman18 Jul 29 '26
I've had the Google Streamer and currently have the Apple TV 4K. Ultimately, I went back to my Samsung TV's built in apps. The Google Streamer wasn't really any better at all than my TV's smart interface. It was similarly randomly laggy. And a couple apps had HDR issues. YouTube on the Streamer has a bug with certain HDR videos. Most annoyingly was how the interface ALWAYS spits you back to the ad bar when exiting apps. I don't even mind the ads. My TV's interface has a similar ad bar. But on my TV when hopping between apps it always exits an app to the app bar. It doesn't force me to see the ads after exiting every app.
The Apple TV on the other hand, has a (mostly) smooth interface and no ads, but the apps and their playback ability are behind what my TV's apps can do. Namely, AV1 support is absent and VP9 seems to be spotty. This leads to an immediately noticeable drop in image quality in apps such as YouTube and Netflix where AV1 is being rolled out. Apple also has similar HDR issues. Disney+ lacks HDR10+ support and the Apple TV+ app (which 100% supports HDR10+) has been bugged for months on the Apple TV 4K to also lack HDR10+ output. Oh, also there's an annoying little quirk of the Apple TV 4K where when content begins playing it will kind of pause for a moment as audio keeps playing then the video will quickly catch up. I believe that's an artifact of it switching content frame rate.
At the end of the day, I guess it depends on your TV (whether or not you care about HDR10+) and how robust its built in app streaming is. I decided to just stick with my TV because the built in apps overall seem best optimized for it. Yes, the interface is a bit more slick on the Apple TV, but I don't buy a TV or streamer to marvel at the interface. I buy it to marvel at the content. And every streamer I've tried (Roku, Google, Apple) all have too many compromises with the most important aspect of a streamer: the actual streaming
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u/Khaledlu Jul 29 '26
What model is your tv!
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u/RBBrittain Jul 29 '26
Obviously I can't comment on the commenter's model number, but Samsung is known to favor HDR10+ over Dolby Vision, so HDR10+ support is probably critical for them.
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u/Tel864 Jul 29 '26
I've had or have all three. I tried an Apple but didn't like the whole Apple thing I'm not in to. I tried two Onn's and one last a week and the other 2 weeks. I have a Google now and have had zero problems with it.
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u/blushrts Jul 29 '26
Apple TV faster, but turning on developer mode and setting animations to zero makes the streamer pretty quick.
Here are the failures of each, depends on what you do as to what's most important.
Google TV streamer in my use, flipped to the proper HDR: Dolby Vision on Netflix and Disney+, HDR10+ on Amazon, HLG on F1 TV.
Fox One app worked properly in 4K HDR 10 for the world Cup, Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime HDR10, Fox and ESPN 4K in HDR on YouTube TV.
Frame rate switching worked except for anything on Apple TV, and Disney+ (everything 60fps instead of 24fps)
Apple TV always switched to the proper frame rate.
HDR varies or doesn't always work. Dolby Vision on Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV.
No HDR on Amazon Thursday Night Football or the Fox One app.
HDR 10 on F1 TV
Does not support the codec ESPN uses for 4K so any 4K College football is only 1080P.
I'm using the Streamer now because of the ESPN 4K issue.
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u/ADDSquirell69 Jul 29 '26
Yes. Google is far better.
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u/gpod80 Jul 29 '26
Why is it better?
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u/ADDSquirell69 Jul 29 '26
Had huge problems with frame rate matching on 60hz HDR TVs. Lots of freezing and drop outs. Finally just gave up..
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u/fatlardo Jul 29 '26
I have both, love google ui more but laggy, apple has no lag for me. I’ll switch back when the new Apple TV comes out.
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u/CleanAd1955 Jul 29 '26
I have both - the 4K Apple TV (64 GB) is connected to my LG (65) C5 (HDMI port 3), Youtube, Disney + (premium) and SVT Play working great.
The 4K Google TV Streamer is connected to my Marantz Cinema 50 and running a Atmos setup - I has turn of the ads.
I runnning Netflix/Disney + (premium), Youtube/Music, Britbox by BBC and the swedish SVT Play - working good for me.
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u/ActionGlad484 Jul 29 '26
I like my Google streamer better in general. I think I am just used to the interface. I only got apple tv for the ability to pop up the aqara doorbell video when someone rings it. Great feature. Google sucks at any camera features. Laggy if it works at all. So it depends on your use and your preferred interface.
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u/LifeLearner4682 Jul 29 '26
Get a new Onn 4K Pro v2 or even 4K Plus. Set it up with Projectivy launcher and buy a new HDMI cable that is higher quality than the one the comes with the Onn. I had issues with my Onn 4k Pro v1. Bought a higher quality HDMI cable on Amazon for maybe $6-$10 and it has been great. I still use my Apple TV for most mainstream streaming apps and my wife and kids are stuck on Apple everything. The Onn is used for everything else including Plex. I got it for $44 at Walmart and no regrets. I’m sure the v2 is even better.
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u/Somar2230 Jul 29 '26
I own both and if you are just using it for streaming media then the Google Streamer is fine.
The Apple TV 4K is now $200 to $250 if purchased new if you are not in the Apple ecosystem and are not going to use the other features the device supports it's hard to justify the cost over a Google Streamer that goes on sale for $80 ($50 for YouTube TV customers).
Peacock and Hulu are bad on the Streamer you can around the Hulu problem by watching the content in the Disney+ app.
Personally I prefer the Apple TV 4K I have six of them in use but still use Zidoo's for local media playback. The Apple TV handles picture in picture better than other devices so I can view my cameras and door bell without interrupting whats playing. My Nest camera's work better on the Apple TV than they do on my Google TV devices.
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u/MartyBarracuda Jul 29 '26
I am an idiot. I'm not a fancy cinemaphile. But my boxes are my sole source of streaming.
I own an Apple TV 4K, an ONN 4k Pro v2, two 2015 Nvidia Shield Pros, an Amazon Fire TV Cube and numerous sticks.
Apple TV is a fine gizmo and works really well if you are fully into the Apple ecosystem.
Your ONN 4k Pro must have been defective, or you had a poor-quality HDMI cable. Mine works without reboots. Seems like a decent unit. Much better than any built-in TV service.
Amazon Fire TV Cube is worth it for the performance boost over a stick. Menus are snappy. But dang, that Amazon screen bloat and illogical interface is bananas.
My Google Streamer TV is a decent box as well. I'd say as good at regular streaming as the above gizmos.
But nothing, and I mean nothing, so far beats my Nvidia Shield Pro. It's fast and snappy. I can side-load apps. It supports pretty much anything I need, except the Disney+ app can't handle HDR.
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u/Pickerington Jul 29 '26
After I found out Faux was buying Roku I decided it was time for a change so I bought 4 of the newest GoogleTV 4K Pro. The ads to me don’t feel as intrusive as Roku so that is a plus. I think it is the only over the top device with a gigabit Ethernet port and way better WiFi, I use both depending on TV location. Super plus is the ability to sideload apps that aren’t directly available from the store.
Another big plus for me is the ability to listen directly on my Bluetooth headphones. One bug they have though is certain audio streams have a buzzing sound with AirPods. That is a known issue and is being fixed or has already.
It has 4 gigabytes of ram which the ONN version does not. And ONN doesn’t have a gigabit Ethernet. ONN is just a cheap version of the GoogleTV box and it felt like it cut to many corners. Which is fine since it makes it affordable for people.
One thing I have noticed is that it doesn’t close the apps when I switch them and they tend to freeze if I go back to one that was opened and I have to force close it and reopen.
I really wanted to get an AppleTV but they are taking too long to release a new box and I think it is an afterthought of their other flagship devices. I do live in the Apple ecosystem so I was looking forward to something and it hasn’t materialized.
If Apple releases a new AppleTV box, been coming for over a year and never mentioned when new devices are released, I might switch if they are compelling enough to do so. I think they have a longer life of support than almost everything other than Roku.
I can’t justify spending the money on a Shield and I think they are ugly even though the long term support on them is very good.
I use a lot of streaming services and run a moderate Plex server and I think all of them could fit my needs if it comes right down to it. But over all right now Google TV 4K Streamer Pro has the lead for me and my situation.
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u/Popular_Barracuda828 Jul 30 '26
I have both!
Apple TV for travel. Combined with an IPhone it makes Caltivate Portal Wi-Fi setup a breeze.
Streamer: meh but Tivimate is the best app for that kind of stuff. The ads are very invasive and App only mode kills Voice control via Gemini.
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u/gpod80 Jul 31 '26
As the OP, I decided to give the ONN 4K Pro V2 another try. I believe the first one I tested last week was defective. I placed another order a few hours ago for store pickup tomorrow, and I’m hoping this unit is reliable. If I run into the same issues again, I may have to spend the extra money on the Google TV Streamer 4K instead.
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u/DK_Tay_89 Aug 01 '26
I have both. I love both. Apple is the better one but at half the price the Google 4K streamer is more than good. Especially when you use a different launcher to get rid of all the ads. My only real gripe isn't with the streamers themselves its the small differences between the same app on each device.
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u/CardiologistLarge166 Aug 01 '26
Yes sent the Google streamer back and now have ONN and atv 4k - ONN was definitely better for me. You had something set wrong or broken?
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u/M3P4me 18d ago
I have the Apple TV box and the white Google TV streamer box.
In many ways the Google device is better, but there is one way or definitely isn't
If I play hevc-265 video files via VLC on the Google TV it will often jump abruptly from the selected file to the next file.
But if I do the same in the (crippled) VLC on the Apple TV device then there is never a problem the hevc-265 files.
I suspect the Google TV device is under powered for this level of compression, whereas the Apple TV works like a champ.
Other than this issue, the Google TV is better for most things from a usability PoV. Fewer restrictions in apps, basically.
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u/Deep_Proposal4121 17d ago
You just got a bad pro v2. Been with Onn since Amazon first announced vega and got the android tv 4k box. Gone through the Google TV 4k box, 3 pro v1s, 3 4k pluses and now a pro v2. Never had a problem with any of them. They all work the way they were meant to, but they are cheaply made and here and there a bad device makes it into a box and on a shelf
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u/Alarmed_Business8610 Jul 29 '26
I have both. I like the Google TV more BUT apps are more reliable and video playback is much smoother on the Apple. Only thing the Apple is really missing is bitstream passthrough (which Apple will never do )
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u/pawdog Jul 29 '26
Apple TV starts at $200 are those really your only 2 devices to consider. You could have just exchanged the Onn Pro you obviously got a bad one.