NVIDIA's Shield TV has been one of the most popular Android TV boxes ever since the original model debuted in 2015, and now a new model has quietly popped up on Amazon.
The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Pricing is set at $199.99, and the Android TV set top box will be released on October 28th. For that price, you get the Shield TV Pro itself as well as a new remote.
NVIDIA hasn't made any official announcements about an updated Shield TV box, but a recent FCC listing did suggest that a new model was on the way. According to the Amazon listing, the Shield TV Pro comes with a new NVIDIA Tegra X1+ chip that offers up to 25% faster performance than the previous generation model. There's 3GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, too, along with two USB 3.0 ports for adding more storage or connecting a USB keyboard, controller, or other accessory.
The Google Assistant is built in to NVIDIA's new Shield TV, letting you ask questions, control playback, use smart home devices, and more, all on your TV. You can also control the new Shield TV with Amazon's Alexa assistant on an Amazon Echo or a Google Home device. This new Shield TV Pro is also SmartThings hub-ready with a SmartThings Link, and it can function as a Plex Media Server.
When it comes to watching content, NVIDIA has included support for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound. 4K video playback is supported as well. And with the built-in Chromecast 4K, you can easily cast photos, videos, and apps from your phone to the Shield TV Pro.
And then there's gaming. Because this is NVIDIA, one of the biggest GPU makers around, gaming is a major focus with the new Shield TV Pro. You can use NVIDIA's GeForce Now service to stream PC games to your Shield TV Pro, or you can play Android games from the Play Store.
NVIDIA is including an all-new remote with the Shield TV Pro with a triangular design. It's got motion-activated backlit buttons to help you see what you're selecting in the dark, a user-customizable menu button, and a built-in lost remote locator. There's also an IR blaster built-in so that you can control your TV, too.
It's kind of strange to see a new Shield TV Pro pop up on Amazon before NVIDIA actually announces it, but now that it's there, an official introduction probably isn't far behind. NVIDIA's previous Shield TV devices are some of the most popular Android TV set-top boxes around thanks to their performance and continued software updates, and so it's great to see another model launching with improved features.
Are you going to buy this new NVIDIA Shield TV Pro?
