Walmart is still updating its 2021 Android TV boxes following Google TV release

Ben Schoon | May 15 2023 - 7:40 am PT

Walmart’s super-cheap Android TV boxes from 2021 went above and beyond when it comes to updates, and despite having a new model now on the market, Walmart is still pushing fresh updates to those devices.

Over the two years they were available for purchase, Walmart did a shockingly good job of keeping its Android TV streaming box and stick up-to-date. New security patches and bug fixes arrived on a pretty regular basis, even more so than Google’s own Chromecast.

This past week, Walmart quietly launched another Android TV update for those devices, this time carrying the February 2023 security patch and version number 1.01.38. That’s not exactly timely considering we’re halfway through the month of May, but it shows that Walmart hasn’t thrown these devices by the wayside with a successor now available.

Unfortunately, there’s no sign of any major Android updates hitting these devices any time soon. Where the new model runs Android TV 12 out of the box, the older generations are seemingly stuck on an Android 10 base. But with security updates still launching, it’s quite hard to complain.

Meanwhile, the new Walmart Onn streaming box continues on the legacy, just now with a Google TV makeover. If the 2021 boxes are any indication, that new device will continue to get updates for quite some time.