In May, eagle-eyed observers noticed that Walmart had added a $30, onn.-branded 4K Android TV-based streaming media device to its website, but at the time, there was no way to add it to your cart. Today, Walmart appears to be ready to sell these ultra-affordable streamers.
A few days after the 4K streaming device was spotted, another onn. streamer was discovered on Walmart: An Android TV streaming stick for $25. Spotted by 9to5google.com, the device is called the “onn. FHD Streaming Stick.” However, as of June 10, the streaming stick is still listed as out of stock.
The two gadgets appear to share the same voice-enabled remote control, and they come with everything you need to begin streaming. The big difference between the two devices is that the streaming stick only supports 1080p Full HD resolution, while the $30 device is capable of 4K resolution.
But neither streamer appears to support high dynamic range (HDR) formats like HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which we would argue make a bigger difference to picture quality on a compatible TV than 4K.
Both devices support dual-band Wi-Fi AC, (the 4K version gets Wi-Fi MIMO), as well as Dolby Audio for up to 5.1 channel surround sound.
At $30, the onn. Android TV UHD Streaming Device, as Walmart refers to it, competes directly with Amazon’s $30 Fire TV Stick Lite, a smaller, more portable streaming media device that doesn’t do 4K resolution, but does support HDR 10.
It also competes with the $35 Roku Express 4K, a Walmart-exclusive version of the $40 Roku Express 4K+ that combines 4K with HDR support and even Dolby Atmos on select streaming services.
At $25, the streaming stick competes with the similarly-priced Walmart-only Roku SE. The SE can’t hide behind a TV and it comes with a simpler, non-voice-capable remote, giving the new onn.-branded streaming stick a bit of an edge in terms of features.
Walmart’s onn. Android TV devices are an extension of the company’s onn.-branded line of consumer electronics that includes Roku-equipped soundbars and wireless speakers.
As Android TV devices, they support both the Google Assistant as well as Chromecast, which lets devices like smartphones and laptops stream audio and video to a TV or mirror the contents of a device’s screen.
The new streamers do not appear to be getting the Google TV interface that Google launched on its own Chromecast with Google TV, a $50 streaming dongle that supports 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. Google TV offers Android TV users a personalized experience that places an emphasis on content curation and discovery, as opposed to the more app-centric approach of the standard Android TV interface.
The included remote controls are very similar to the one that accompanies the Chromecast with Google TV, offering volume, mute, and power controls for a connected TV, as well as a dedicated Google Assistant button that will let you issue voice commands via the built-in microphone. That’s a feature the Walmart-only Roku SE and Express 4K lack.
