This Chromecast with Google TV deal is a game-changer
Miss out on Prime Day loot? The Google Chromecast is going cheap right now
The Google Chromecast has seen its price slashed by a third over at John Lewis: formerly a cool £60, you can now snap the Chromecast with Google TV and accompanying remote control up for a mere £40.
If you’re an avid streamer – perhaps you might be licking your wounds from a fruitless Prime Day – this deal is scorcher. We gave the Google Chromecast four stars out of five in our full-length review, docking points for a price point we thought was a tad too on the expensive side. But this recent £19 price drop makes it a far more compelling offering.
The Chromecast supports 4K, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and comes equipped with a pared-back remote control (simplicity incarnate), with a handful of easily navigable buttons and shortcuts for YouTube and Netflix.
The device’s Google TV UI marks a significant upgrade from the company’s streaming sticks of yore, with horizontally scrollable categories siphoning out different genres of content. In terms of topline modes, you can flit between a “For you” page with tailored recommendations, plus Movies, Shows, Apps and Your Library (content purchased on Google Play). Particularly handy in this domain is the Google Assistant voice-activated search, which works well and is even compatible with YouTube.
It’s worth noting that the Chromecast with Google TV is not without its quirks: you can’t get Apple TV+, BBC Sounds or Now apps (though you can cast Now to the Chromecast). The voice command functionality can yield questionable results too. For example, if you search for content that’s not available to stream, you’re flooded with film synopses and actor bios, rather than being straightforwardly told that the film isn’t available. This can make for a frustrating user journey at points.
If you can look beyond these oddities, the Chromecast offers a strong, intuitive UI and its addition of a tangible remote control is welcome. With a third off in the summer sales, its newly trimmed down price means there’s now a decent amount to recommend the Chromecast with Google TV.