Google TV’s “magic button” is making its debut — but not on Chromecast

Google’s rumored “Magic Button” shortcut for Google TV has been spotted out in the wild on a real-world remote for an upcoming streaming box…made by Walmart.

AFTV News I got a contract From Walmart’s yet-to-be-released Onn 4K Pro — a Google TV-powered streaming box — the remote features a new star button in the upper right corner. The device simply calls it the “customizable button,” and it can be programmed as a shortcut to an app or to allow you to change inputs. It replaces the dedicated TV input button on the previous Onn streaming box remotes.

New Google Button introduced on non-Google devices.
Photo: AFTVnews

The button has been leaked as part of Google TV’s Nearby hardware for years, but has never actually appeared until now. It first appeared in marketing materials for Google’s first Chromecast TV in 2020. Then it appeared last year inside Android TV beta code, suggesting it could be coming to an upcoming Chromecast under the name “Magic Button.” Google will hold its I/O developer conference on May 14, and it’s possible that the company will unveil a new version of Chromecast there.

The Onn 4K Pro was leaked last week in a YouTube live stream by Superdell-TV. The new device features a built-in smart speaker along with “Pro” features such as Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. The remote also has a large “Free TV” button that takes you to quick Google channels. The device has not yet appeared on Walmart’s website, but leaks indicate that it will be officially released very soon.

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