Google's Chromecast with Google TV is still the best streaming stick you can get for $50.Our pick: Google Chromecast with Google TVĪrs Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Below, we've taken a new look at how each of the major players' main streaming sticks now compare. In other words, Roku and Amazon had a lot of ground to make up for in their latest OS updates. Google's interface looked better, too, and the stick was easier to operate in just about every way. In our 2021 comparison, it handily beat both Roku's and Amazon's offerings when it came to search and serving up useful content suggestions. Google's Chromecast hardware hasn't changed since its September 2020 release. The Streaming Stick 4K+ adds Roku's Voice Remote Pro, which offers a rechargeable battery, shortcut buttons, and a lost remote siren for $20 more. The new Streaming Stick 4K, like Amazon's Fire TV Stick Max, has a more powerful processor and Wi-Fi radio than its predecessor. Roku's Streaming Stick+, which we tested in the last version of this comparison, has been replaced by a pair of streaming sticks: the Roku Streaming Stick 4K and Roku Streaming Stick 4K+.

Amazon's new Fire TV Stick 4K Max brings Wi-Fi 6 support, an updated remote, and slightly beefier internals than the standard Fire TV Stick 4K. Further Reading Amazon launches its first self-branded smart TVs and a new 4K Fire TV StickSince our last streaming stick comparison, Amazon and Roku have turned in new hardware and updated their respective operating systems to compete with our previous top pick, the Google Chromecast with Google TV.

Chromecast to firestick