I’ve often written about how much I miss the days when streaming services were cheap, like when Disney+ cost just $7 a month, or Netflix charged $12 a month for 4K streaming. But now, I’m starting to reminisce about something else, too: when streaming devices were cheap.

Thanks to the ongoing global memory shortage, which has caused the prices of components like RAM and storage to skyrocket, we’ve seen price hikes across the tech industry all year long. Whether it’s laptops, tablets, smartphones, consoles, graphics cards, or pretty much anything else with memory inside, prices have been going up, and streaming hardware hasn’t been spared either.

It all started back in June, when Apple raised the price of its 3rd-gen Apple TV with 64GB of storage by $70, from $130 to $200, and its 128GB Ethernet model by $100, from $150 to $250. That’s when the dominoes started to fall, and one by one, other companies started raising the price of their streaming hardware too, with Roku raising the price of all its streaming sticks and the Roku Ultra, then Amazon with all its Fire TV Sticks and the Fire TV Cube, and then Google, with the Google TV Streamer, which went up in price by $50, from $100 to $150.

But through it all, one company stood strong: Walmart, which kept the price of its newest top-tier Onn 4K Pro streamer at just $60. But now, ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, Walmart has given in and quietly raised the price of the Onn 4K Pro and some of its other Onn streaming devices. However, even with its price hike, the Onn 4K Pro still handily beats its closest rival: the Google TV Streamer.

Brand

Onn

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 6

Ethernet

100Mbps

Supported video

HDR10+, Dolby Vision

The Onn 4K Pro now costs $70

This price hike could’ve been much worse

Credit: Walmart / Pocket-lint

Walmart’s new price hikes have already taken effect, with each affected Onn device getting a $10 increase (via Android Authority).

Its HD streaming stick now costs $40, up from $30, while its 4K streaming stick has gone from $40 to $50. The Onn 4K Pro has also increased from $60 to $70.

Although any price hike sucks, I have to admit I was relatively surprised by the new price of the Onn 4K Pro, since I feel like it could’ve been much worse. Even at $70, it still offers a lot of value, especially compared with the Google TV Streamer, which jumped to $150 back in August.

In terms of design, the Onn 4K Pro looks strikingly similar to the Google TV Streamer, and its hardware is surprisingly capable considering it costs less than half as much. It comes with 32GB of storage, matching the Google TV Streamer, along with 3GB of RAM compared to Google’s 4GB. It also features an Amlogic S905X5M quad-core CPU, which AFTV News found performed better than the Google TV Streamer’s quad-core chip in its CPU benchmark tests.

Where the Google TV Streamer does have an advantage is Ethernet, as it comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port that’s significantly faster than the 10/100 Ethernet port on the Onn 4K Pro. However, Walmart’s streamer does have better Wi-Fi, supporting Wi-Fi 6 compared to the Google TV Streamer’s Wi-Fi 5.

Crucially, both devices run Google TV (Android), so the overall user experience is basically identical. You can use Gemini, install Android apps from the Play Store, run custom launchers, and sideload any apps you want. Both devices also support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

All things considered, the Onn 4K Pro is faster than the Google TV Streamer, runs the same Google TV operating system, and costs just $70 compared to $150. So if you’re looking for an affordable, yet extremely capable Android streamer, it’s hard to argue with the value the Onn 4K Pro offers. I’m honestly shocked, but also happy, that Walmart only raised the price by $10 rather than significantly more.