Just partner with Nvidia and let them lead the way with hardware while Google handles the software.
Another device would he nice but it would have to be 100ish. Otherwise the Shield TV is a better buy..
A pixel box for around $100-$130 would fill a void between the Chromecast ultra and the Shield. Basically Google should design it and Nvidia should build it. It could be a Shield with a Pixel/Google Home design aesthetic with no controller and updates are pushed by Google. It would need HDR10, Dolby Vision (Since CC Ultra has that), and every audio codec that the Shield supports. Not sure I would buy it but I think it would be a good idea.
Hells to the yeah. I need a replacement for my Nexus Player.
I agree. I'd love to see a stock Android TV device that supports native 60p/30p/24p UHD and HDR (both Dolby Vision and HDR10) and that sells for close to the price of the highest end Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices. (No need for a game controller or the overpowered processor of the Nvidia Shield.) The problem is, those 4K devices from Roku and Amazon have, I believe, very thin profit margins. But they sell them in order to build their ecosystems, which is profitable in other ways (ads, subscriptions, etc). I don't think a third party like Xiaomi makes very much on an Android TV box post-sale; subscriptions and purchases go through Google Play. So I really don't see any incentive for Xiaomi or anyone else to follow up on the Mi Box with something a little better and better supported. (With Nvidia, they offer their own separate game store/service, which takes advantage of their beefy, more expensive hardware, so that's a recurring revenue stream for them, totally separate from Google. And I assume profit margins are better on their Shield TV vs., say, a Roku Ultra.)
All that to say, I think the only way we see a quality Android TV box that costs less than the Shield TV is if Google makes it.
Have you tried O on Nexus Player?? Guessing not. It's an alpha experience at best. Glad Nvidia is taking their time to release.
The GPU horsepower of the Tegra X1 is wasted on virtually everyone who buys a Shield TV.
Google could make something with a chip with a strong VPU made by someone like mediatek that could do 4K, 60fps HDR in VP9, h.265 and everything else for around 100 dollars. It might not play games any better than say, the Mi Box does, but it could and should be sold as a video device, not a combo video player and gaming console as nvidia does with the Shield TV.
I would say 2 USB 3.0 ports and gigabit eithernet, and dual band AC wifi are also a must. Maybe that's pushing the 100 dollar price point, however. The Mi Box has just one USB 3.0 port and no ethernet.
Maybe start off with a Pixel Stick first. Won't step on any toes with that one. Something that competes with the Roku Express and Fire TV stick maybe? Cuz if they release an "upgraded" Nexus Player, then they're creeping in on Xiaomi's market. If they make a full high-end console with the Pixel branding, they're encroaching on the Shield TV. Heck, the best ARM chip is still the Tegra X1, so they'd have to somehow convince NVIDIA to let them use it for a Pixel Box that would pretty much be the same hardware as their own product. That won't work either.
Unless Qualcomm can get their shit together and lend a new X1-class chip to them, then Google has nothing new to offer the market of Android TV shoppers.
I'm skeptical that it would be a good media player given that pixel and nexus phones remove common features.
I'd pay $120 for something that would do just 1080p, 10/100 ethernet, sdhc, USB 3.0, and a remote with volume buttons. You want 4k? Then pay $50 more and get a shield.
Chance are it will be an Apple Tv clone, but $20 cheaper.
Is this not the Nvidia Shield? It reminds me of the Motorola Xoom. Wasn't a 'Nexus' device but it pioneered an OS designed for tablets (Honeycomb).