At CES 2017 today, NVIDIA unveiled their latest Android TV solution, the ‘New SHIELD’. This is a follow-up Android TV console to the previous and popular NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV and while the design of the unit largely resembles the previous model, NVIDIA has been quick to detail that there are some very notable differences between the two. The most obvious of which is that the New SHIELD comes equipped with Google Assistant. Offering users a much more intuitive experience and one which draws on Google’s use of AI. NVIDIA notes they have worked closely with Google on developing this ‘Google Assistant for Android TV’ and the SHILED is the first Android TV device to come equipped with the feature. As well as being one of the few devices that comes with Google Assistant as an integrated feature. Which essentially means the New SHILED can also emulate the experience you would get from Google Home or Amazon’s Echo without having to purchase the additional hardware.
As part of the New SHIELD announcement, NVIDIA also announced the NVIDIA SPOT. Which is a small mic device which can be placed throughout the home and then can be connected to the New SHIELD, for an even better level of voice control and Google Assistant integration. In addition, and relevant to a number of TV-related announcements that have been coming out of CES this year, the New NVIDIA SHIELD also comes equipped with HDR support. While the previous model was a 4K playback supported device and one which did support HDR, this year’s offering takes the HDR support to another level with increased HDR support. This is where the New SHIELD is clearly differentiating itself from the previous model, as this one is designed wholeheartedly to provide you with a significantly improved viewer experience with the likes of Netflix, as well as an improved 4K gaming experience.
In terms of availability and pricing, NVIDIA has now confirmed that the SHIELD will become available to buy ‘later this month’ and will be priced at $199.99. In addition, NVIDIA has also now confirmed that a SHIELD Pro version of the new SHIELD will be available soon, although pricing has yet to be confirmed on the 500GB version. Either way though, the standard New SHIELD will be available to pre-order from today.