As part of Google’s # 11WeeksOfAndroid series, this week the focus is on the non-phone platforms, such as Wear OS, Android TV, and Google’s car platforms. Today is the first to get the spotlight on Android TV, where Google has seen tremendous growth in the past year, plus they have some new stuff to announce.
On the growth front, Google says it “has more than 80% more Android TV active devices in months than a year ago”, and that it got there by working with 7 of the top 10 smart TV OEMs and more than 160 TVs operators. That’s pretty impressive growth, though I can’t say I was surprised after seeing so many new TV boxes for Android on the market, including new releases from carriers like AT&T and TV gurus like TiVo. Android TV is everywhere right now.
In addition to these numbers, Google announces new features coming to Android TV soon:
- Instant apps from Google Play on Android TV: Android TV lets developers get their apps ready for Instant, which means users can try apps without having to install them first.
- PIN code purchases: Sure buying everything on Android TV can be frustrating when you have to enter a full password with a remote. Fortunately, Google will add PINs as an option during the purchase process.
- Gboard TV: Gboard for Android TV will soon add voice-to-text and predictive typing, as well as new layouts for easier input actions.
- Automatic gaming mode for low latency: Google adds low latency mode to Android TV for gamers by letting developers turn off post-processing when their apps are set to full screen.
As someone who uses Android TV on all my TVs, I love this promise from Google. I just wish we could see the same for Wear OS.
// Blog for Android developers
