Nvidia Shield TV Pro rises $100 to $299 on memory costs

Nvidia raised the price of its Shield TV Pro streaming box by $100 on October 2, 2026, to $299.99. It also discontinued the cheaper Shield TV, leaving the Pro as the only model. Nvidia blamed the cost of memory chips. The hardware itself has not changed since 2019, so buyers now pay about 50% more for a seven-year-old device.

What changed

The Shield TV Pro cost $199 before the change, according to 9to5Google and Droid Life. It now costs $299.99, 9to5Google reports. The specs stay the same.

Nvidia gave one reason. "The cost of components, including memory, has increased substantially across the industry," the company said, as quoted by 9to5Google and AFTVnews.

The cheaper model is gone. Nvidia has officially discontinued the standard Shield TV, the tube-shaped version, AFTVnews reports. Both models had gone out of stock earlier this year, in July and September, according to AFTVnews. The site expects the Pro to come back into stock now that the price has changed.

A 2019 device at a 2026 price

The Shield TV Pro is an Android TV box, a small computer that plugs into a TV to run streaming apps and games. It launched in October 2019. Pocket-lint lists its specs:

Spec	Shield TV Pro
Chip	Nvidia Tegra X1+
Memory (RAM)	3GB
Storage	16GB
Launched	2019
Missing	HDR10+ and AV1 support

AV1 is a newer video format that streaming services use to save bandwidth. HDR10+ is a high dynamic range format for brighter, more detailed video. Pocket-lint notes the box supports neither.

What the Shield has kept is software support. Nvidia said in early 2026 that it would keep supporting the device for the foreseeable future, according to 9to5Google. Droid Life calls that support "unmatched."

Why memory costs reach an old box

The Shield's 3GB of memory is small by today's standards. Even so, memory prices have risen enough to push up the cost of building it. Tech AI Wire reported last month that DRAM and NAND prices climbed again as memory makers moved capacity to AI servers.

The Shield is the latest of several devices to go up in price. 9to5Google says other streaming boxes have also become more expensive, naming the Google TV Streamer, Apple TV 4K and Roku devices. Droid Life points to phones too, including Google's Pixel 10a, now $599, and Samsung's Galaxy S26, both up $100.

What this means for developers

If your team uses a Shield TV Pro as an Android TV test device, budget $299.99 per unit from now on. The cheaper Shield TV is no longer an option. Droid Life suggests waiting for Black Friday sales, which may bring the price down for a while.

If you build streaming apps, do not assume AV1 on the living-room devices your users own. The Shield TV Pro, still sold new in 2026, cannot decode it. Keep an older format available as a fallback, and test playback on the Shield itself.

For anyone buying streaming hardware in bulk, such as for hotels, offices or digital signage, expect more price increases. The Shield was not a new product, and it still went up by $100. Memory costs are now reaching devices that have been on sale for years.

Watch Nvidia's support promise. The higher price makes sense to buyers only if updates keep coming. A clear statement on how long the Pro will get software updates would matter more now than before.