Chromecast with Google TV VS Apple TV 4K (2022): Features, Differences and Price

Few TVs don’t come with an internet connection and access to streaming video apps. Although the main brands offer solvent solutions, such as LG and webOS; Samsung and Tizen or Sony and Android TV, long-term support for software updates is not their forte. If you want the best experience, whether in the most complete models or the most basic, an external multimedia center or digital decoder it is the most recommended. The Chromecast with Google TV, 4K version, is among the bestsellers, but how will it get along with the Apple TV 4K (2022)? We put them face to face to know their characteristics.

Features Chromecast with Google TV VS Apple TV 4K (2022)

• Design: We start with the physical appearance. The Chromecast with Google TV is formatted dongle; It is hidden behind the TV when connected to the HDMI port. The Apple TV 4K (2022) is shaped like a box, but its size is so compact that it goes unnoticed and does not disturb wherever it is placed. Design can affect connectivity options, which we’ll discuss later.

• Processor, RAM and S torage

  : Apple TV 4K wins by a landslide in this section with its A15 Bionic chip, 4 GB of RAM and 64 (or 128 GB) of internal storage. Although it is a device intended to consume streaming content, Apple Arcade wants to give the impression that we are dealing with a gaming console, but there is still a long way to go and Apple must bring some modifications to get the most out of it. The Chromecast with Google TV is a fairly basic device compared to the Apple TV 4K: modest quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 4.4GB of free user storage.

• video and sound: Both media centers can play content in 4K high resolution and high dynamic range HDRDolby Vision, one of the most used in video streaming services. They can also play Dolby Atmos, although on the Chromecast it’s via HDMI pass-through.

• Operating system: tvOS 16 is the Apple TV operating system, with a simple and easy to use interface, but it limits its possibilities, since it is very closed and there are no applications that take advantage of its power in the App Store. The Chromecast with Google TV runs the recently updated Android 12 and adds some much desired features like frame rate matching (very unnecessary as there’s hardly any app that takes advantage of it, unlike Apple TV ). However, chromecast hardware is fair enough and performance after update was negatively affected. And this is a major drawback because Android TV is more open than tvOS, allowing emulators, KODI, etc. to be installed officially.

• connectivity: The latest revision of the Apple TV 4K is prepared for the future with its HDMI 2.1 and WiFi 6, very important because the basic version lacks Gigabit Ethernet (you have to pay 20 dollars more for the top model to have it). The Chromecast with Google TV is more modest in this section, especially since its format dongle it doesn’t make it easy to add ports, as we saw on Amazon’s Fire TV Stick. Some users extend their capabilities through a USB-C hub, but Google offers the option of adding an Ethernet connection if a special power adapter is purchased separately.

• voice assistant: Siri on Apple TV and Google Assistant on Chromecast. Google’s development is more advanced and allows you to do/request more things, although in both cases they are generally used for similar tasks: controlling home automation accessories, reading certain content, etc.

• Price: Apple TV was never a mass device; It has always taken a back seat, especially with much cheaper alternatives from Google and some from Amazon. That’s why the company has lowered the price with the 2022 model and part of the 169 dollars (this is not a big reduction). The Chromecast with Google TV has an official retail price of 69.99 dollars in the Google store, although it is common to see discounts at certain times of the year.

Apple TV 4K (2022) VS Chromecast with Google TV, which one to buy?

The Apple TV 4K is one of the best media centers out there: it’s very smooth, good image upscaling and native frame rate refresh that works well. But its price and limited software are two big drawbacks this may encourage users to opt for other alternatives, especially if they do not have more Apple devices.

The Chromecast with Google TV has gotten a lot of attention for its value for money and is a relatively inexpensive way to get Android TV on any HDMI-enabled TV. And although its operating system allows you to experiment more, your material is pretty good and the update to Android TV 12 made the user experience less fluid.

You can be up to date and at all times informed of all the news from the Apple world and the offers of Applesfera Selection in our profiles of Twitter and Facebook.

Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may benefit Applesfera.