Google Nexus Player Revealed, Streams Movies And Games

Google has announced its latest media device, the Nexus Player, which is the company’s own TV set-top box with a focus on streaming video, apps and games.

The $99.99 (around R1,100) Asus-designed device comes in the form of a short black cylinder with a voice-search enabled remote. It gives users access to the Google Play ecosystem of apps using a specially designed Android TV interface.

According to the official Nexus Player website, users can also “cast” content from their tablets, PCs or other connected devices to Nexus Player using a similar process as the Chromecast HDMI dongle.

Much like Amazon Fire TV, Nexus Player will also support a dedicated gamepad built in a standard format complete with dual analogue sticks and four shoulder buttons. Gamepads will be sold separately for $39.99 (around R440).

The pint-sized set top box includes a 1.8GHz Quad Core Intel Atom processor, 802.11ac 2×2 (MIMO) WiFi, and an HDMI out. It runs Android Lollipop, the latest release of Google’s mobile operating system, as do the concurrently announced Nexus 9 tablet and Nexus 6 phone.

Nexus Player will be available for pre-order starting on 17 October, with a North American release planned for 3 November. European and South African release plans have not been announced.