The Google TV Streamer has a different chip under the hood than we thought

The new Google TV Streamer is here and it has some much-improved specs compared to the current Chromecast with Google TV. Boasting a much-improved 32GB of storage, a whopping 4GB of RAM, and 22% faster CPU performance, it tackles most of Chromecast’s biggest pain points and should deliver smooth performance. However, the chipset inside is not the one we thought it might be but don’t worry, the one Google decided to go with is more than capable.

So what’s under the hood? According to a report from Android Authority, it’s not Amlogic’s new 6nm S905X5 chipset everyone expected, but rather MediaTek’s MT8696 — the same chip powering Amazon’s 2021 Fire TV Stick 4K Max. MediaTek chips power all sorts of devices, from Chromebooks, phones, routers, IoT, and much more, so it’s not surprising to see Google go with them.

I’ve not had hands-on with this particular Five TV Stick with the MT8696 inside but the reviews I’ve found praise it for solid performance, and that’s with only 2GB of RAM. With double the RAM in the Google TV Streamer, you should have no problems loading apps and breezing through the interface.

For most of us, this chip should be plenty. Let’s be real, your streaming device isn’t your smartphone and doesn’t require a ton of performance. It doesn’t need to juggle a million tasks or run graphically-intensive apps. Its job is to deliver your favorite shows and movies, and the MT8696 is more than capable of doing that, and doing it well.

Google’s going for practicality here and probably trying to keep costs down. Yes, this device is more expensive than any other Google-made streaming device in the past, but I’m hoping the improvements on board will justify the $100 price tag. In the grand scheme of things, the chip under the hood doesn’t really matter as long as it runs the OS smoothly, and I think this MediaTek chip will do exactly that.

With pre-orders open now and official availability on September 24th, I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on one. I can’t wait to test performance and the overall experience to see if it can unseat the Onn. 4K Pro streaming box as my go-to streaming recommendation.