Imagine a world where Google left the cheap streaming stick market—and handed the keys to Walmart. That world is now falling apart.
For years, Google’s Chromecast was the $35 miracle that turned dumb TVs smart. Then, in 2024, they killed it entirely. The result? A gaping hole where affordable streaming hardware used to live.
Walmart was supposed to fill that void with its Onn brand of Google TV streamers. But lately, those devices have been vanishing from shelves, their prices swinging wildly like a carnival game.
The Onn 4K Streaming Dongle? In some stores it’s $20. In others, $40. Online, it’s locked at $40—double the price of the HD version that has half the memory.
Then there’s the Onn 4K Plus—a device that earned glowing reviews for its speed and storage. It got a price hike from $30 to $40 this year. Still a steal, except Walmart can’t keep it in stock.
And the premium Onn 4K Pro? The new version costs $60—up $10 from before—and is impossible to find. Both old and new models remain unavailable as of now.
Walmart isn’t talking, but the whispers point to RAM shortages. Or maybe the company, fresh off buying Vizio, just doesn’t care about Google TV anymore.
Whatever the reason, the result is brutal: anyone wanting a cheap Google TV streamer is stuck hunting for scraps.
This wasn’t always the story. Google’s Chromecast started at $35, then evolved into the $50 Chromecast with Google TV in 2020. It competed hard against Roku and Amazon.
Then Walmart crashed the party in 2021 with Android TV devices starting at $25. Soon they were running Google TV itself, prices dipping as low as $15. Google’s own hardware suddenly seemed pointless.
So when Google launched a premium $100 streamer, it quietly killed the Chromecast line. Executives pointed to Walmart and said, “They’ve got it covered.”
Now, with Walmart struggling, that strategy looks like a dangerous gamble. Google has no cheap answer to Roku’s sticks or Amazon’s Fire TV—and that’s a shame.
Because Google TV’s interface is genuinely excellent. It surfaces recommendations from the services you actually pay for, and lets you banish the ones you don’t use. You can even replace the entire home screen—something no other platform allows.
It integrates with Google Home and Photos. It’s more open than Amazon’s locked-down empire. It’s a platform worth fighting for.
But a platform needs hardware. Affordable hardware. And right now, Google has handed that responsibility to a retailer that may not care enough to keep up.
The lesson? Never outsource your entry-level future to someone else’s bargain bin. Google could be learning that the hard way—while Roku and Amazon quietly celebrate.
