Walmart Potentially Prepping $15 HD Streaming Device Powered by Google TV This Summer
Walmart Potentially Prepping $15 HD Streaming Device Powered by Google TV This Summer
Walmart wants to make 2023 the summer of streaming. Reporting from 9to5 Google indicates the retail behemoth has created a new listing with the FCC for another streaming device, following the release of its Onn 4K-enabled streaming box in early May.
The FCC listing calls the new device the “Onn Full HD Streaming Device Google TV.” As the name suggests, the device will top out at 1080p screen resolution, meaning Ultra-High-Definition viewers will need to upgrade to the 4K box. The tradeoff will likely be that the new device will be less expensive, around $15 or so as compared to the $20 Walmart charges for the 4K model. If this is indeed the price, it will instantly make the new Walmart streaming player one of the cheapest on the market.
It will bear watching if Walmart decides to leak more details about the product before making it available to the public. In 2021, the company unveiled details about a then-new generation of ONN streaming devices weeks before they launched. At the time the leak was assumed to be accidental, but Walmart did essentially the same thing with the 4K Onn box earlier this year.
If the new device follows the same pattern as its predecessors, it will show up on the Walmart website first, but not actually be available for sale. Then some customers will get access to it via online shopping before it eventually hits store shelves and becomes available to the general public. Of course, Walmart may skip all these steps entirely and simply release its new Google TV-powered HD streaming player widely as soon as possible.
A new, budget-friendly streaming device could be just the ticket for users of first-generation Google Chromecast models. At the end of May, Google announced that it would no longer be supporting those devices with new software updates, and that customers who continued to use them would notice their Chromecasts would slowly stop working at all. Soon, those users will have a new, low-cost option for replacing their Gen-1 Chromecast players.
Keep an eye out for more details on Walmart’s new streaming device, including price confirmation and release date. Hopefully, the retailer has streamlined the release of the product somewhat, and it will be available for customers without much delay in the next couple of months.