The skin is reminiscent of the company’s design language that you’ll see throughout its websites and apps, and it’s fairly clean and consistent throughout, unlike the skin T-Mobile slapped on its “TVision” dongle. Using the Operator Tier, Verizon puts a heavy, but not-awful skin on top of Android TV’s homescreen. Thankfully, that doesn’t apply to Verizon’s changes to Android TV. Just look at the truly gross Verizon Messages app that’s designed to look like it was ripped out of 2015. To be honest, the carrier’s software on Android has historically been slow and often ugly. If I told you Verizon was going to customize an Android skin, you’d probably want to run away, and I don’t blame you. Android TV with a Verizon skin isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds I was hoping these would work with YouTube TV, but they are stuck with Pluto TV. Underneath those standard buttons, there’s also a number pad and “Guide” button. The remote was super responsive and really just a pleasure to use. There’s a Google Assistant button front and center, as well as dedicated playback control buttons. Speaking of the remote, it’s a pretty solid one! The rectangular box is plastic, and I do wish the edges weren’t as sharp and the top plastic wasn’t so easy to scuff, but it’s easy to use and the buttons are comfortable to press. I love seeing features like this, and I wish they were in more places! When pressed, the remote will emit a fairly loud noise so you can find it stuck between a cushion or under a cabinet. Up top, there’s a single button that is used to find the remote. I would have loved to see Ethernet built-in, but at least the full-size USB port can easily be used with a dongle. This allows for a lot more flexibility in terms of accessories and storage. It’s not a wild setup, but it’s far more than you’d find on a dongle like the new Chromecast or Mi TV Stick. There’s HDMI output capable of 4K HDR (and a cable is included), a charging port, full-size USB, and that’s it. On the back of the device, you’ll find a series of ports. It’s slim on a TV stand and doesn’t have a large footprint, and more importantly, there’s no obnoxious branding, just a small Verizon checkmark at the top. Starting with hardware, the Verizon Stream TV is a basic black box, but I actually quite like the look. Slick and capable hardware with a solid remote That’s what Verizon does with its $69 Stream TV box, and it’s actually a relatively solid product on the whole. Using the “Operator Tier,” some companies can even heavily customize the platform. According to CNET, the Stream TV will be available for free as part of the company's 5G home internet rollout-along with a complimentary month of YouTube TV.Like the Android platform it’s based on, one of the wonderful things about Android TV is that it can suit a variety of different hardware and software needs. We have yet to see it up and running, but Verizon has almost certainly made some customizations using Android TV's operator tier functionality. The Stream TV runs an unspecified version of Google's Android TV platform, which means users will have access to its extensive catalog of video apps and games*. ![]() Other than the signature red checkmark on top, the product is unbranded, and we haven't confirmed the manufacturer yet (though one source tells us it's very similar to Xiaomi's Mi Box). The Verizon Stream TV is available to order directly from the company's site. ![]() Today, Verizon introduced its rumored Android TV-powered set-top box. Many of you observed in the comments, and Verizon spells it out directly in its documentation: Netflix is not supported.
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