Android TV

Android TV is a version of the Android operating system developed by Google for television sets, digital media players, set-top boxes, and soundbars.[2] A successor to Google TV, it features a user interface designed around content discovery and voice search, content aggregation from various media apps and services, and integration with other recent Google technologies such as Assistant, Cast, and Knowledge Graph.

Not to be confused with Google TV or Google TV (smart TV platform).
Android TV
Android TV 9.0 home screen
DeveloperGoogle
OS familyUnix-like
Initial releaseJune 25, 2014
Latest release11 / September 22, 2020 (2020-09-22)[1]
Marketing targetSmart TVs, digital media players, set-top boxes, USB dongles
Available inMultilingual
Package managerAPK via Google Play
Official websiteandroid.com/tv/
tv.google

The platform was first unveiled in June 2014, and was first made available on the Nexus Player that November. The platform has been adopted as smart TV middleware by companies such as Sony and Sharp, while Android TV products have also been adopted as set-top boxes by a number of IPTV television providers.

A special edition called Android TV Operator Tier is provided to service operators that implement Android TV on the device they provide to their subscribers to access media content. In this edition, the operator can customize the home screen and services on the device.[3]

History

Android TV was first announced at Google I/O in June 2014, as a successor to the commercially unsuccessful Google TV. The Verge characterized it as being more in line with other digital media player platforms, but leveraging Google's Knowledge Graph project; Chromecast compatibility; a larger emphasis on search; closer ties to the Android ecosystem (including Google Play Store and integration with other Android families such as Android Wear); and native support for video games, Bluetooth gamepads, and the Google Play Games framework.[4][5] Some attendees received the platform's development kit, the ADT-1; The Information reported that the ADT-1 was based on a scrapped "Nexus TV" launch device that was being developed internally by Google.[6][7] Google unveiled the first Android TV device, the Nexus Player developed by Asus, at a hardware event in October 2014.[8]

The ADT-2 development kit device was released before the release of Android TV 9.0.[9] Android TV 10 was released on December 10, 2019,[10] together with the ADT-3 development kit.[11] Android TV 11 was released for the ADT-3 on September 22, 2020, while rollouts were planned for original equipment manufacturer partners in subsequent months.[12]

Features

The Android TV platform is an adaptation of the Android OS for set-top boxes and as integrated software on smart TV hardware. Its home screen uses a vertically-scrolling, row-based interface, including a "content discovery" area populated by suggested content, followed by "Watch Now" rows that surface media content from installed apps. Android TV supports voice input for commands and universal search across multiple services; selected devices also support Google Assistant. All Android TV devices support Google Cast, allowing media to be played on them from supported apps[13] on other devices in an identical manner to Chromecast. Android TV supports software from the Play Store, including media apps and games (although not all Google Play apps are compatible with Android TV).[14] Some Android TV devices, such as the Nvidia Shield and Razer Forge TV, are also marketed as microconsoles and bundled with a Bluetooth wireless gamepad.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

Google TV interface

A modified Android TV user interface, branded "Google TV" (unrelated to the company's discontinued smart TV platform of the same name), debuted on the Chromecast with Google TV streaming device, which was released on September 30, 2020. The Google TV interface emphasizes content recommendations and discovery across different services and installed apps, compared to the stock Android TV interface that is more focused on navigating between individual installed apps. Google TV is compatible with over 6,500 apps built for Android TV.[21] At launch, over 30 streaming services were integrated with Google TV for use in its content aggregation features:[22]

The Google TV interface will be replacing the stock Android TV interface by the end of 2022, starting with set-top boxes, dongles, and smart TVs in 2021.[23] The debut of Google TV coincided with the re-branding of Google's Play Movies & TV Android app to Google TV.[24]

List of devices
The ADT-1 digital media player, part of the official development kit for Android TV

Digital media players

Televisions

During Google I/O 2014, Google announced that Sony, Sharp, and TP Vision/Philips would release smart TVs with Android TV integrated in 2015. It was noted that support for handling TV-specific functions, such as input switching and tuning, were natively integrated into the Android platform.[29][30]

Sony unveiled a range of Bravia smart TVs running Android TV at CES 2015.[31] Sharp released two TV models on June 10, 2015.[32][33] Philips announced that 80% of their 2015 TVs will run Android TV,[34] the first two models of which were released in June 2015.[34]

Google announced other television hardware partners in January 2016, including Arcelik, Bang & Olufsen, Hisense, RCA, TCL Corporation, and Vestel.[35][36]

Set-top boxes

Several television providers have released IPTV services using Android TV-based hardware as opposed to a proprietary set-top box, including LG UPlus's U+ tvG Woofer and U+ tvG 4K UHD,[37] French ISP Free's Freebox Mini 4K,[38] and Bouygues Telecom's BBox Miami.[39] Dish Network released an Android TV device in 2017 known as the AirTV Player, marketed as a companion to its Sling TV service, and supporting an optional adapter for attaching an antenna to receive over-the-air television.[40] In 2020, AT&T launched AT&T TV as its new flagship pay television service, which is based on an Android TV set-top box and the infrastructure of its OTT service DirecTV Now.[41][42][43]

Ericsson added Android TV support to its MediaFirst IPTV platform, which is used as the basis for Canadian services such as Telus Pik TV, and SaskTel MaxTV Stream.[44][45][46][47]

Vodafone Australia is currently selling a TV tuner and media streaming device running Android TV.[25]

See also

References
  1. "Introducing Android 11 on Android TV".
  2. "JBL LINK BAR | Voice-Activated Soundbar with Android TV and the Google Assistant built-in". www.jbl.com. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  3. Schoon, Ben (December 28, 2018). "Here's why pay TV operators are flocking to Google's Android TV". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  4. "Google launches Android TV -- and here's what it looks like". PCWorld. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  5. Opam, Kwame (June 25, 2014). "Google officially unveils Android TV". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  6. "The Information: ADT-1 Is Actually A Cancelled 'Nexus TV' Project, Head Of Android@Home Has Left Google". Android Police.
  7. "Here's Google's Android TV developer kit, the ADT-1". Geek.com. 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  8. "Nexus Player is Google's first Android TV device". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  9. Pardiwala, Ali (September 30, 2019). "Android TV Will Be Updated to Android 10 by End of 2019: Report". Gadgets 360. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  10. "Google releases Android TV 10, fulfilling promise for 2019 rollout". 2019-12-10.
  11. "Google reveals ADT-3 Android TV box with 4K and HDR, but it's only for developers".
  12. "Introducing Android 11 on Android TV". 2020-09-22.
  13. How Digital Signage App Works on Android Devices
  14. What apps are available on my Android TV?
  15. "Hands On With the Razer Forge TV and Cortex Stream". PC Magazine. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  16. "Redesigned Razer Forge TV Harnesses Power of Ouya". Tom's Guide. 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  17. Smith, Ryan. "NVIDIA Announces SHIELD Console: Tegra X1 Android TV Box Shipping In May". Anandtech. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  18. "The new Android TV home screen has the right ideas, but it's probably not enough". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  19. "What is Android TV, how does it work, and which devices offer it?". Pocket-lint. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  20. Newman, Jared (June 26, 2014). "The Promises and Perils of Android TV". Time.com. Time, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  21. Hayes, Dade (September 30, 2020). "Google Adjusts TV Strategy, Merges Chromecast And Android TV Into Single Device". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  22. Schoon, Ben (October 1, 2020). "Google TV integrates with over 30 streaming services, here's the full list". 9to5Google. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  23. Schoon, Ben (September 30, 2020). "Android TV will be replaced by Google TV". 9to5Google. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  24. Bohn, Dieter (September 30, 2020). "Google Play Movies & TV is now Google TV but it's not the same Google TV that runs on Android TV on the new Chromecast, it's an app". The Verge. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  25. "Vodafone TV™". Vodafone Australia. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  26. https://www.airtel.in/xstream/box. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. "Nokia Streaming Box 8000". Nokia. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  28. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/_admin/uploads/2020/10/Factsheet_HUB_FINAL.pdf
  29. "Android TV will be in Sony, Sharp and Philips TVs next year". Engadget. AOL.
  30. "Google announces Android TV hardware from Sony and Sharp at I/O". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  31. "All of Sony's new smart TVs run on Android TV". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  32. Jacob Kastrenakes (10 June 2015). "Sharp's first 4K Android TVs are now available". The Verge. Vox Media.
  33. "Sharp introduces two new series of Smart TVs with Android TV on-board". Android Central.
  34. "80% of Philips TVs for 2015 will be Android TV". Android Central.
  35. "CES 2016: Android TV Spreads its Wings". Multichannel. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  36. Lardinois, Frederic. "Google Announces New Chromecast Audio And Android TV Hardware Partners". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  37. The Korea Herald. "LG Uplus launches new Android TV services".
  38. "Freebox mini 4K brings Android TV international". SlashGear. 2015-03-11. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  39. "Bouygues Telecom dévoile Miami, son futur décodeur Android TV". Clubic.com.
  40. "AirTV Player + Adapter review: An imperfect marriage of Sling TV and broadcast television". TechHive. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  41. "AT&T's New Online TV Service Looks a Lot Like Current Offerings". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  42. Welch, Chris (2020-03-02). "AT&T TV now available nationwide with Android TV set-top box — and a two-year contract". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  43. Brodkin, Jon (2020-03-04). "Struggling AT&T plans "tens of billions" in cost cuts, more layoffs". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  44. Baumgartner, Jeff. "Bell Canada Rings Up Ericsson for Upgraded TV Platform". Multichannel. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  45. Baumgartner, Jeff. "Telus Soft-Launches Skinny Bundle IPTV Service". Multichannel. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  46. Noyes, Jayda. "SaskTel introduces maxTV Stream all-in-one service". 980 CJME. Rawlco Communications. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  47. "SaskTel launches new IPTV platform maxTV Stream". Cartt.ca. August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
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