With over 40% market share, Android TV is one of the leading smart TV platforms out there. As internet adoption is accelerating across the world, users are looking for smart TVs to play content over the internet and Android TV is filling the need. That said, there are users who are still stuck with cable television and they are looking to understand this new Android TV landscape. So if you want to learn what is Android TV and how it works then you have come to the right place. Here, we explain everything about Android TV, its pros, cons, and the future. With that in mind, let’s begin.
Right from the basics of Android TV to features and hardware requirements, we have covered everything in this article. You can click on the link below to move to the relevant section easily.
- What is Android TV?
- Android TV Features
- Hardware Need
- What About Android TV Updates?
- Gaming on Android TV
- Android TV vs Google TV
What is Android TV?
Android TV is a smart TV platform developed by Google. When I say smart TV, it means a TV that can deliver content from the internet (called IPTV). So to use Android TV, internet connectivity is a must. Talking a bit about its development history, the platform was announced back in 2014 against the rising need for more IPTV solutions. Now, not just traditional TV sets, but set-top boxes, digital players, and even soundbars run Android TV.
Unlike Android that we run on our smartphones, the TV interface is quite different. It has a top-to-down scrollable interface with row-based menus. Android TV emphasizes more on content discovery by aggregating content from multiple apps. So that was all about the basics of Android TV. Let’s now find the best features of Android TV.
Since Android TV is based on Android OS, it has Play Store support which means you can access thousands of Android apps optimized for the TV platform. It has been six years since Android TV was announced so now you have a variety of quality apps that work fluidly on the TV platform. You no longer have to use a web browser as almost all the streaming and live TV services have an app for Android TV.
Apart from that, the headline feature of Android TV is Chromecast integration. On all Android TVs, you can play content right from your smartphone and desktop (through Chrome browser). You can cast the smartphone screen on your Android TV seamlessly. In fact, some Android TVs also support casting from Windows 10.
Android TVs generally don’t need beefy hardware as it’s a lightweight OS. Most Android TVs in the market come with a modest Amlogic or a Mediatek processor coupled with 4/8GB of storage and 2/4GB of RAM. That said, some Android TVs do feel slow to navigate and the response is slightly delayed due to the low-end chip. So I would recommend you to get an Android TV that comes with a decent processor, has higher RAM capacity, and can play 4K content smoothly.
Yearly update on Android TV does not have a fixed number as it depends on the TV manufacturer. Most companies offer 2-3 years of updates, but frankly, it’s not enough. TVs last much longer than smartphones so Google should up the game and address the update issue directly.
Gaming on Android TV
As we went through the hardware requirements, it’s clear that Android TVs are not meant for gaming since it comes with modest specs. You can however play non-intensive Android games from the Play Store. Apart from that, with game streaming services on the rise like Stadia, GeForce Now, and xCloud, it’s now possible that you can play high-end titles on your budget Android TV.
Google’s rebranding of its smart TV platform has come a full circle. Starting with Google TV in 2010 and moving to Android TV in 2014, Google has decided to rebrand Android TV with Google TV again in 2020. Unlike earlier drastic changes, this time Google TV keeps the same Android base but improves personalized recommendations and on the curation front.
As Google knows too much about us, it plans to offer highly-curated content on Google TV. It also offers a “Watchlist” menu where you can find all the movies that you have saved on the web. Next, you can get your smartphone notifications on your Google TV and control IoT devices right from your TV. Basically, with Google TV, Google wants to streamline your viewing experience and offer you a more personal dashboard.
