Major US retail chain Walmart is expanding its Onn range of technology and AV products with a 4K media streamer, and it could be the closest thing to an upgraded Google Chromecast we've seen yet.
The Onn 4K Pro is yet to be officially announced, nor has it been made available to purchase on Walmart's online store, but it has been spotted in the wild by YouTuber SUPERDELL-TV (via AFTV News). With an RRP of $50 (around £40 / AU$75), the 4K media streaming box appears to be targeting the Google Chromecast with Google TV and Fire TV Stick 4K Max, rather than other 4K streaming boxes like the Apple TV 4K or Fire TV Cube which cost more than double.
However, the Walmart box appears to beat the Google 4K streamer regarding specs on paper. The Onn 4K Pro features 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM and Wi-Fi 6, whereas the Chromecast has 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. Both streamers run Google TV, which is the latest iteration of Google's Android-based operating system; not to be confused with Android TV.
So far, the Onn box seems like a fairly by-the-numbers 4K media streamer, but it does have a trick up its sleeve that no other streamer on the market can lay claim to. The Onn 4K Pro is reportedly the first to include the Google TV "magic button", a feature which leaked in a beta preview of Android 14. This customisable button will allow users to assign either a streaming service shortcut or view and switch TV inputs depending on your preferred setting (as pointed out by FlatpanelsHD).
That hasn't stopped Walmart from including a quartet of pre-assigned streaming buttons, here occupied by YouTube, Netflix, Disney Plus and Paramount+. The Onn 4K Pro is also confirmed to support Dolby Vision and Atmos, as well as HDR10 – although whether or not that support extends to HDR10+ is unknown.
It's expected to launch in Walmart stores across America soon, with availability in select locations now. While this likely won't be of interest to readers not situated in the States, it could hint towards a new Google Chromecast 4K streamer, which has been an overdue item on our wishlist for quite some time now. Could we see a new version of the Google Chromecast with Google TV at the next Google I/O event? It's entirely possible.
MORE:
Read our full Google Chromecast with Google TV review
And check out our picks for the best media streamers
