Google TV Streaming Stick
Hacker ApprovedRanked 9 of 10 streaming devices by recommenders
Cheap Google TV stick people find works well for the price, with Walmart's ONN versions region-locked to the US and Puerto Rico.
Cheap Google TV stick people find works well for the price, with Walmart's ONN versions region-locked to the US and Puerto Rico.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Cheap and works well for price
“Get a $20 roku or google tv stick or whatever you're comfortable with”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Valve: HDMI Forum Continues to Block HDMI 2.1 for Linux” “It's cheap (~40 euros) and it works surprisingly well for what it is.”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device” “a $25 ONN streaming box from Wal-Mart is a better bet for this job”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “Raspberry Pi 5 – 16 GB, $350” - Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Fox to Buy Roku Streaming Service in $22B Deal”
- Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Skip the Tips: A game to select "No Tip" but dark patterns try to stop you”
Preferred over other streaming boxes
“a $25 ONN streaming box from Wal-Mart is a better bet for this job”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “Raspberry Pi 5 – 16 GB, $350” “buy a non-scammy Onn stick for $20-$30 from Walmart instead”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Fox to Buy Roku Streaming Service in $22B Deal” “I really don't know why one would pick anything else.”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more” - Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Privacy concerns: spyware and proxy use
“no residential proxy or botnet participation without you knowing!”
Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “Read This Before You Buy That TV Streaming Stick” “it also is riddled with spyware”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device”
Other streaming devices people recommend
The four most recommended other streaming devices, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple TV 4K | 323 | 160 | 67% | 13 | 5 yrs17 owners | Approved |
| Nvidia Shield TV | 113 | 44 | 72% | 13 | 9 yrs17 owners | Approved |
| Apple TV 4K | 93 | 113 | 45% | 9 | 6 yrs14 owners | — |
| Google Chromecast | 43 | 26 | 62% | 10 | — | — |
| Google TV Streaming StickThis page | 10 | 2 | 83% | 6 | — | Approved |
What people said
12 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“no residential proxy or botnet participation without you knowing!”
“I have a bunch of them connected to all of the TVs that I manage for my family and friends.”
“I really don't know why one would pick anything else.”
“buy a non-scammy Onn stick for $20-$30 from Walmart instead”
“a $25 ONN streaming box from Wal-Mart is a better bet for this job”
“buying a GoogleTV stick (like the $30 one from Onn)”
“it also is riddled with spyware”
“It's cheap (~40 euros) and it works surprisingly well for what it is.”
“just use a Nvidia Shield Pro or ugoos/Onn”
“Get a $20 roku or google tv stick or whatever you're comfortable with”
“Walmart already started region locking the ONN sticks to US and Puerto Rico.”
“am very happy with it after 2 years of using it”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.