The new Google TV Streamer remote will work with your older Chromecast with Google TV

The Google TV Streamer brings plenty of upgrades and improvements compared to the older Chromecast with Google TV, but if you’re not ready to give up your older streamer, maybe you can at least upgrade the remote. According to Google’s official press materials, the new Google TV Streamer remote is compatible with both the 4K and HD variants of the Chromecast with Google TV.

It’s not too surprising that Google’s new remote officially works with the Chromecast with Google TV, as all Google TV remotes are just simple Bluetooth input devices. Typically, any Android TV-compatible remote will work with any Android/Google TV setup box, though the experience might not be quite as good if there are custom features that aren’t supported by the hardware. The bigger question is whether the new remote’s special features will play nicely with the Chromecast.

The new Google TV Streamer remote features a customizable shortcut button and a Find My Remote chirper inside, but the Chromecast with Google TV doesn’t technically support either of these features at the moment. In theory, the Find My Remote function might work anyhow, as it sounds like you can enable the feature within the Google Home app directly or through a voice command on your phone. The customizable button is less certain.

I attempted to pair my Onn 4K remote, which also has a customizable button, and while the remote worked fine for basic functionality, hitting the customizable button did nothing, and there was no way to turn this on in the software from what I could tell. That said, the Google TV Streamer remote isn’t just some third-party device, and if the company is officially listing it as supported, odds are both of these features will work, even if it requires a minor software update first.

Even if these features don’t work, it’s likely the remote will eventually be sold separately, just like the Chromecast with Google TV remote. As long as the pricing is similar or the same, we’d still recommend the newer remote for Chromecast owners. The new remote addresses many of the biggest complaints we had about the Chromecast remote.

While the original remote was a bit too small and slippery, the new model is longer and has a gripped texture on the back that makes it easier to hold comfortably. The volume buttons on the side of the remote were also very easy to hit by accident, while the new remote moves the volume button to the face of the remote instead.