SHIELD TV Re-Branded To Battle Apple TV (With Price Cut Too!)

This week the folks at NVIDIA have done a bit of clever re-branding to make their war with Apple TV more visible. To do this, they're now calling the NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV something else – they're calling it just SHIELD TV. NVIDIA is also kicking the price down a bit by switching what's available in the box, aiming for $179 – that's approximately $21 cheaper than the previous least costly edition of this device.

The device we're speaking about here is what we've reviewed this January – there still called NVIDIA SHIELD TV. This device is the second-generation NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV device, coming with a smaller body and a slightly different packaging of hardware than the first generation. That first generation is still available from NVIDIA as the NVIDIA SHIELD Pro.

SEE IT IN DETAIL: NVIDIA SHIELD TV Review (Gen2, 2017)

The difference between the NVIDIA SHIELD Pro and the other NVIDIA SHIELD devices is internal storage size (and a microSD card slot). The PRO version also has a micro-USB port and an IR receiver. The difference between the other two SHIELD packages is $20 and a gaming controller.

The new least-expensive version comes with the TV remote only – the only piece of this hardware equation you'll need if you don't plan on playing any games. Those that find that they'd actually like to have the gaming controller later will end up paying a cool $60. There's also a SHIELD Stand for $20 and a replacement SHIELD tv remote for $50.

This update hits the price point NVIDIA needs to hit to compete directly with the newest version of the Apple TV. That's also $179 from Apple – that's for the Apple TV 4K, the first Apple TV to be capable of providing media at a size larger than 1080p.

For more information on the Apple TV, have a peek at our Apple TV 4K details feature or our most recent review of the until-now most recent Apple TV, the 4th gen Apple TV review all the way back in 2015.

For more information on NVIDIA SHIELD (with Android TV), AKA SHIELD TV, have a peek at our massive review, as linked above.