I didn’t want to test it! But the Onn 4K pro is out and I want to compare both so here I am.

This cheap little device made a lot of noise when it went out last year. First because it’s from Walmart which is not their usual battlefield, and also because it is dirt cheap. The Google Chromecast direct competitor is only $20 and has pretty much the same specs and features.

Is it any good? (meh, but it’s cheap) should you buy it? (no, unless you want something cheap)
See? That’s the problem with that device, but also its strength: It’s not trying to seduce you, it just does the job and you don’t have to break the bank for it.

… or (conspiracy theory) is this just a strategy to build a brand and sell more of the 4K pro when it comes out?

First Impression and Design

I’d just want to stop a second to discuss the name of the device. What is it? Onn is the brand, but what is the model? 4K streaming Box Google TV? that’s a jawbreaker.

Funny addition, Onn provides a sticker in case you’d want to stick the device on the back of your tv.

I tried to power it directly from the USB on the TV, it seemed to work at first then got stuck in a loading loop. I’m not sure to understand that limitation (not only for that device), is it the TV or the device? Fire Sticks for instance are ok being powered by USB and it’s a nice touch, I can always use one less plug on my outlet.

It’s not USB-c, which is not a dealbreaker but don’t forget your plug if you travel.

The setup is straight-forward as it is with Google TV: with the Google Home app, search for a new device, scan the QR code, enter few basic information for Google Home (room for your device, wifi password, connect to your Google account + few other clicks) and that’s it.

You also have the option to setup directly from your TV but I haven’t tried since it involves typing with the remote which is far from ideal. I haven’t tried with an iphone or without a Google account, I might later and will update the review.

Remote

The remote feels very cheap and light. It is also small and I don’t have big hands. Not Chromecast-small, but still small enough not to be enjoyable.

It has 4 shortcuts “Youtube”, “Netflix”, Disney+” and “Paramount+”. If not installed, it will bring you to the Google store. I bet you can change the assignation with an app like Button Mapper.

Specs and Performance

Comparison with its direct Android competitor Google Chromecast

Spec	Onn 4K Streaming Box	Google Chromecast 4K
Max Resolution	4K	4K
HDR Formats	HDR	HDR10, HDR10+, HLG
CPU	4x ARM Cortex-A53 (up to 1.8 GHz)	4x ARM Cortex-A55 (up to 2 GHz)
RAM	2GB
Storage	8GB

Both are very similar, but the CPU slightly more performant for the Chromecast and doesn’t support as many HDR formats.

While using the device, it didn’t give me signs of a lesser capable box than the Chromecast, it’s very reactive and loadings felt about the same. Oddly, the picture in 4k HDR don’t feel as crispy as the other devices, I even add to double-check the settings. I ran a face to face comparison with the Chromecast and something felt off out of the box with HDR. It’s a big one but if you don’t have another device to compare with, you’d probably not notice anything. I might be too used of the NVIDIA Shield quality as it is still the one I use daily.

Conclusion