Pre-orders open for a cheaper Nvidia Shield TV that comes without the game controller

Nvidia Shield TV with remote. (Source: Nvidia)

Nvidia have dropped the price on their Shield TV by removing the game controller from the bundle but still including the remote. The new pricing puts it in in a more competitive position against the base model of the new Apple TV 4K.

by Craig Ward, 2017/09/21

Android ARM

The Nvidia Shield TV console is a pretty powerful video and game streaming device. When we reviewed the 2016 model, we found it handled Android games without issue and game streaming of titles that can handle higher input lag also worked well. But we considered the Shield TV was in its element when playing videos (including 4K) locally or over the internet.

When Nvidia released an updated model in early 2017, they kept the same internals but updated to Android 7.0 Nougat and implemented support for 4K HDR content. It was still one of the most powerful dedicated streaming devices, but the price was a bit high for many people who didn’t want the gaming abilities.

To fix this, Nvidia is hoping to make the Shield Android TV a more attractive option for consumers by releasing a version without the included game controller, but still including the Apple-TV-esque remote. The price has been dropped by US$20, to a more attractive US$179, which also happens to be the same price as the base model of the recently announced Apple TV 4K 32 GB that releases tomorrow.

The new controller-less Nvidia Shield TV 16 GB will be available from the 18th of October for US$179.