This upcoming Google TV Streamer 4K rival is a mixed bag

The official Google TV Streamer is a compelling 4K streaming box for Android users and anyone in the Google ecosystem, but it’s a premium offering priced at $100 — unless you catch it on sale. Those seeking a cheaper option might look to smaller brands, like Thomson or Onn, for a Google TV-powered streaming box at a more palatable price point. Thomson has a new streaming box that will surely rival the Google TV Streamer, but it includes a mix of upgrades and downgrades.

It’s called the Thomson Google TV Streaming Box 260 Pro 4K, and we know everything about it — except the price — thanks to a new product listing on Thomson’s website. The streaming box supports 4K video at 60FPS and is powered by the Amlogic 905X5M-B chipset, which uses a quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 CPU and an ARM G310 V2 GPU.

Like the Google TV Streamer, Thomson’s upcoming streaming box offers 4GB of memory. However, the Thomson 260 Pro 4K offers 64GB of internal storage, which is double that of the Google TV Streamer. Thomson’s streaming box also includes two USB-A ports at USB 2.0 speeds and a Gigabit Ethernet port. While the Google TV Streamer also supports Gigabit Ethernet, it has a USB-C port and zero USB-A ports, making Thomson’s option more appealing for those using older peripherals.

There’s a glaring omission that makes the Thomson 260 Pro 4K a questionable purchase for home theater fans, though. The streaming box supports optical audio out, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital Plus, but there’s no Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos support. It’s a limitation of the chipset, as Thomson would’ve had to use the Amlogic S905X5M-J instead to offer Dolby Vision and Atmos.

Despite being branded as a “Pro” streaming box, the lack of Dolby Vision and Atmos support puts the Thomson 260 Pro 4K a step behind premium offerings like the Google TV Streamer. The HDMI port onboard is only HDMI 2.0, not HDMI 2.1, as well. Wireless connectivity is also limited to just Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2.

The Thomson 260 Pro 4K will sit in a strange place in Thomson’s lineup, as the company does offer models with Dolby Atmos and HDMI 2.1 support, albeit with less onboard storage and RAM. In that way, the Thomson 260 Pro 4K is both an upgrade and a downgrade. Pricing will help clarify the streamer’s value proposition, but that information isn’t available yet.

How much would you pay for a 4K streaming box with high-end storage and memory, but without advanced Dolby home theater features? Let us know in the comments below.