NVIDIA Officially Releases New NVIDIA SHIELD and NVIDIA SHIELD Pro

Rumors of a NVIDIA SHIELD TV successor have been going around for some time now and when the new devices leaked last week — a release seemed imminent.

Today, NVIDIA officially unveiled the two devices — a smaller tube shaped streamer called NVIDIA SHIELD TV ($149.99) and one that retains form-factor similar to the previous generation called the NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro ($199.99). The streaming devices come with the latest NVIDIA Tegra X1+ processor, giving it a 25% speed up over the previous generation.

Both devices support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and add in AI upscaling to make HD footage appear better in 4K resolution.

‘These new models provide a big step up for Shield, which has consistently delivered groundbreaking innovations in the living room since its introduction five years ago,” said Jeff Fisher, SVP of PC Business at NVIDIA. “They deliver unquestionably best-in-class entertainment, supported by Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision and our breakthroughs in using AI to improve video streaming playback.”

Besides the form factor, the main difference between the two devices is the internal storage and how to expand it. The larger sibling comes with 16GB storage and 2x USB 3.0 ports for expansion, while the smaller one comes with 8GB of storage and a microSD port.

One of the biggest changes with the device is the redesigned remote. The new triangular design now support standard AAA batteries instead of the coin batteries of the previous model. It has one-touch access to Netflix and the ability to launch Google Assistant.