Every year, a new version of Android arrives and, with it, usually a lot of new features and changes behind the scenes. This year, with the launch of the first Android 12 Developer Preview, we also saw the first time that the launch was accompanied by previews for Android TV and Google TV. This is a source of excitement in itself, but the updates themselves don’t have much to offer.
Android updates generally do not include new TV features
I’ve been playing with Android TV 12, specifically the flavor of Google TV, the day before. From setup to settings, I honestly can’t find anything remarkable to tell you, and that has been normal on Android TV since its inception.
The last time an Android update provided important features and UI revisions on Android TV was Oreo, when Google completely overhauled the experience. Since then, not much has changed. The next release, Android 9 Pie, was one of the biggest updates, but it still hasn’t brought great results. Google made some performance improvements, added support for autocomplete (which was never widely used) and added a new configuration method that transferred a lot of work to a nearby smartphone. The simplified settings menu was the biggest change for the user.
Android TV 10 brought Project Treble with it, in addition to making some more performance optimizations. User-oriented, however, this update did nothing. The same applies to Android TV 11, which has had virtually no adoption. The only notable changes for this update include support for low latency, better support for gamepad and some enhanced TV functions.
The simple fact is that majority of the new features that Google offers its TV platforms do not come from Android updates, but from launcher updates, apps and other methods. This is also a smart strategy, as many of the changes that users really care about can be implemented without worrying too much about OEM partners.
Many of the news are behind the scenes
If you didn’t notice a pattern at this point, most of the changes you will find in the Android TV platform updates are made outside the user’s view. Some people may come across adjustments, but most of the time they will be invisible. Google described what’s new, at least in the first preview of Android TV 12, as:
And for the biggest screen in the house, the first preview of Android 12 for Android TV is also available. In addition to bringing the latest Android features to your TV with this preview, you’ll also be able to test your apps in the new Google TV experience. Learn more on the Android TV Developers website and start using your ADT-3 developer kit.
It … doesn’t help.
Based on time alone, it is quite clear that Android TV 12 will have broader adoption and, as such, means that this update will likely be the first time that scoped storage will take effect on Android TV / Google TV. For the average user, it will never matter, but those who want to sideload applications May we face problems, although we cannot say that we have found any so far. We also speculate that some of the tweaks in Android 12, such as HEVC transcoding, AVIF, multichannel audio and more, can be felt on TVs running the platform.
When it comes to Google TV based on Android 12, there was literally only one user-oriented feature I was able to find. On the “For you” tab, the home screen now shows a list of “Recommended videos” provided by YouTube, complete with the logo. It’s nothing to be excited about, because Google could launch this for the new Chromecast with an app update. Honestly, they probably already did and we are seeing this for the first time here by coincidence.
More timely updates are the real reason for the hype
Does this mean that there is no reason for Android TV and Google TV users to be excited about Android 12? Absolutely not! The truth is that the main Android updates Never it’s been a big deal for Android TV. The platform is usually a full version ago and has literally ignored entire versions of the operating system more than once.
Having an update to Android 12 so soon for TVs is a leap forward, and it’s also quite revealing that the preview version we ran on an ADT-3 also featured the February 2021 security patch. I don’t want to create expectations, but it really looks like updates will finally be a priority for Google with this renewed interest in the platform and I have to say that I’m here for that.
When will Android TV 12 be released?
It seems reasonable to assume that Android TV 12 will start releasing stable versions around the same time as phones, which is scheduled for approximately August or September at this time. Of course, this may not mean that consumer devices like the new Chromecast, TCL TVs and others get the update quickly, but we hope that’s the case.
We will continue to install new preview versions of Android TV and Google TV as they become available, so stay tuned as we report any major changes we find.
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