Google’s Next TV Streamer Will Finally Hear You (Allegedly)

October 13, 2026 Comments Off on Google’s Next TV Streamer Will Finally Hear You (Allegedly)
White Chromecast with Google TV and its voice remote on a dark wooden table
The Streamer's predecessor, because the sequel has not been photographed yet. Photo: Y2kcrazyjoker4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Contents hide
1 Where this story really comes from
2 What the leak says (rumour, single source)
3 What other sites added (guesswork, labelled as such)
4 What is actually confirmed
5 When will it launch, and for how much?
6 Should you buy the current one or wait?
7 Best IPTV boxes to buy
8 Sources

Google is building a new Google TV Streamer. We know this not because Google said so (Google says nothing, beautifully, at great length) but because somebody close to the project had a quiet word with 9to5Google. And the shopping list is interesting: a faster chip, more storage, microphones on the box itself and a sensor that knows when you have walked into the room.

That last one deserves a pause. Your telly box may soon notice you before your family does.

Before anyone starts saving up, a reality check. Not one word of this comes from Google. There is no announcement, no price, no date, and I could not find a regulatory filing or a code teardown backing it up either. It is one well connected report, repeated by everyone else. So let’s split what is actually known from what is merely whispered.

Where this story really comes from

The report that kicked it off is 9to5Google’s exclusive by Abner Li, published on 9 October 2026 (about 9:30pm UK time). It cites “a source familiar with the matter”. AFTVnews, The Verge and Android Central all followed, and every one of them credits 9to5Google. None of them has a second, independent source. Five headlines, one leak. That is how the internet does maths.

What the leak says (rumour, single source)

  • Same look, slimmer waist. The general design stays, but it is narrower for a slightly smaller footprint.
  • Microphones on the box. There are cutouts on the slanted, pill shaped top that listen for “Hey Google”. Today you have to find the remote and hold its button. Soon you may just shout at the furniture, like a normal person.
  • Presence sensing. The box can tell when someone is in the room. 9to5Google points out that TCL launched the first Google TV with this trick last year, where it switches on the Google Photos screensaver when someone walks in and shows the time and weather as you get closer. What Google’s box will do with it has not been reported.
  • A faster processor. No chip name, no benchmark, just “faster”.
  • More storage than 32GB. How much more was not reported.
  • A tweaked remote. Largely the same, but with two more shortcut buttons joining the existing YouTube and Netflix ones. The Find My Remote button stays on the back of the box.

One small correction while we are here. A few write ups say the two new buttons are YouTube and Netflix. The original report says the opposite: two extra shortcuts join the YouTube and Netflix buttons you already have. Which apps get the new buttons is anyone’s guess, though I would put money on whoever pays Google the most for the privilege.

Several generations of Google Chromecast devices and a white Google TV remote on a wooden floor
A decade of Google plugging things into tellies. Photo: Y2kcrazyjoker4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What other sites added (guesswork, labelled as such)

AFTVnews’ Elias Saba reckons “more than 32GB” probably means at least 64GB. That is a sensible guess, but it is his guess, not part of the leak. He also notes that Google went from the Chromecast with Google TV 4K in 2020 to the Streamer in 2024, and that the same rhythm would put the sequel in 2028. He thinks Gemini and Apple’s smart home push could hurry Google along. Again, that is analysis, not information.

He also makes a fair point about the microphones: Walmart’s onn. 4K Pro already listens hands free for roughly half the price. Google putting mics on its premium box in 2026 is less “innovation” and more “catching up with the supermarket”.

What is actually confirmed

Here is the boring stuff that Google itself has put in writing:

  • The current specs (from the Google Store spec sheet): 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, up to 4K HDR at 60fps with Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG, Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.1, HDMI 2.1, Gigabit Ethernet, a Thread border router and Matter support, plus five years of security updates. No microphones on the box. The HDMI cable is still sold separately, because of course it is.
  • The US price went up. On 31 August 2026 Google raised it from $99.99 to $149.99. Google told 9to5Google this was “due to rising component costs” and applied to US pricing. The Verge reported the same.
  • UK and Europe have not had that hike. When I checked the Google Store this morning (13 October 2026), the UK store listed it at £99 and the German store at €119, with an offer applied. Prices move, so check before you buy.

So the US is paying 50% more for a two year old box at the very moment a better one is reportedly in the works. Timing, as they say, is everything. Mostly for Google.

When will it launch, and for how much?

Nobody knows. 9to5Google says plainly it has no information on launch timing, and nobody has reported a price. Anyone giving you a date right now is making it up. Given that the current model has just been bumped to $149.99 in the US, I would not bet on the sequel being cheaper.

Should you buy the current one or wait?

If your current streamer works and you are not desperate for hands free Gemini, wait. A rumoured box with no date could be months away, or years. If your old stick is dying today, the current Streamer is still a good Google TV box, and in the UK and Europe it has not had the US price rise. Just know that you are buying the version that cannot hear you and has no idea whether you are in the room. Some would call that a feature.

If you are going for the current model, these are the store pages I use: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT

And when the new one turns up, assuming it does, I will be first in the queue to see whether presence sensing means “smart screensaver” or “another way to count how many people are watching the adverts”.

Best IPTV boxes to buy

These are certified Android TV / Google TV media boxes and sticks that can run players and licensed apps from Google Play. They are not pirate hardware. They do not come with channels or playlists. I am not claiming I personally lab-tested every SKU this month.

Buy one of these when: Fire TV sideload is a hassle on your model, you want Play Store apps on a proper TV OS, or you want a dedicated player shell behind the sofa. No Fire TV device is on this shortlist.

Still shopping for a Fire TV device? Fine for Prime Video and the Appstore universe. Not the shortlist above. And none of these boxes magically make unlicensed streams legal.

Sources

Photos: “Chromecast with Google TV, snow colour on wood table” and “Collection of Chromecast devices” by Y2kcrazyjoker4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped. No photo of the next Google TV Streamer exists publicly yet.

Written by Dr Husham Memar

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