The Google TV Streamer is the first device to run Android 14 for TVs (2024)
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
The Google TV Streamer ships with the latest version of Android built for TVs: Android 14 for TVs.
The latest version of Android TV brings some new accessibility features, noteworthy performance improvements, picture-in-picture mode support for Google TV, and more.
It’s unclear when (or even if) the existing Chromecasts will receive an update to Android 14 for TV.
Earlier this week, Google laid to rest one of its most iconic brands, the Chromecast, and in its place launched the first of what might be a series of Google TV streaming boxes: the Google TV Streamer. The Google TV Streamer is a sleek, pill-shaped set-top box that’s double the price of the Chromecast it’s replacing, but in exchange, it has a beefier processor, smart home features, Google AI integration, and the latest Google TV features. Although Google didn’t specify what version of Google TV its TV Streamer is running, Android Authority has seen evidence that, unsurprisingly, it runs the latest version, which is based on Android 14 for TV.
Android 14 for TV, also called Android TV 14 by many, is a special version of Android 14 that’s optimized for TVs. It was officially announced at Google I/O earlier this year, where it was revealed that the update brings improvements to power efficiency, accessibility, performance, multitasking, remote control, and networking. Although the new OS was unveiled at I/O, there weren’t any devices that could run the new version, not even as a beta. Instead, Google only provided developers with an image they could run through the emulator in Android Studio. Soon, though, developers will be able to test their apps on real hardware thanks to the Google TV Streamer, which appears to run Android 14 for TV out of the box.
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
We know this because we obtained a copy of the firmware from the Google TV Streamer, code-named “kirkwood,” that unmistakably is based on Android 14. While we can’t share the firmware dump, we did use it to reveal the chipset in the Google TV Streamer. For the developers out there, we can also reveal that the Google TV Streamer still runs a 32-bit version of Android despite the fact that it ships with 4GB of RAM.
Although the architecture won’t matter to most users, the fact that the Google TV Streamer runs the latest version of Android TV does matter. In fact, as I just mentioned, the latest version brings numerous improvements across the board. To summarize:
To reduce standby power consumption, Android 14 for TV introduces two new energy modes, Low Energy Mode and Optimized Energy Mode, that disable certain features when the TV isn’t in use.
To improve accessibility, Android 14 for TV adds color correction modes, enhanced text options, and better navigation options.
To improve performance, Google has improved the boot latency, reduced the cold start-up time of the launcher, optimized the vertical and horizontal scrolling performance of the home screen, sped up data loading, and reduced storage use by 20%.
To improve multitasking, picture-in-picture mode is finally coming to Google TV, though there’s a catch: apps that playback media content can’t use it.
To improve remote control, Google TV is finally adding a native Find My Remote feature. This feature is activated by pressing a button on the back of the Google TV Streamer.
To improve networking, Android 14 for TV now supports Android’s Thread network stack. This lets supported devices with a Thread radio, such as the new Google TV Streamer, act as a Thread border router.
Apart from these changes, Android 14 for TV also inherits many of the underlying platform changes in the base version of Android 14. One of these is a new API that lets apps embed a custom activity in the Device Controls interface, which is how the new “Google Home panel” was born on phones running Android 14. The Google TV Streamer is also getting access to the Google Home panel, and it’s likely due to this new API that that’s possible. This might also explain why the Google Home panel isn’t immediately coming to existing Chromecast devices, which currently run Android 12 for TV.
Google
Overall, Android 14 for TV is a big update for the TV platform. Usually, platform updates aren’t that significant for Android TV since most of the features reside in the launcher, but there are only so many changes that can come about from updating the launcher. Given these improvements, I hope the Google TV Streamer won’t be the only device running Android 14 for TV for long.
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Google TV Streamer is first with Android 14, more features revealed. The successor to Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, will be the first TV device to run Android 14. It will reportedly also switch to a MediaTek chip but lack wireless integration with Nest speakers.
Google TV is powered by an underlying operating system called Android TV OS. Some smart TVs and streaming devices are powered by Android TV OS but do not have the Google TV interface. These devices are referred to as Android TV devices.
Google TV allows you to create multiple user profiles, each with its own personalised recommendations and watch history. This is especially useful for households with diverse viewing preferences. Android TV also supports multiple profiles, but the personalisation aspect is not as advanced as in Google TV.
The Home menu screens on an Android TV and Google TV are similar. For the Android TV, there's a Clock or (Settings) icon displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, and for the Google TV, you'll see a Google account icon. The display in the upper right of the screen varies depending on your model and settings.
Google unveiled the first Android TV device, the Nexus Player developed by Asus, at a hardware event in October 2014. The ADT-2 development kit device was released before the release of Android TV 9.0.
Google TV streaming devices and smart TVs bring together everything you stream on one screen. So you can find what to watch without jumping from app to app. “Google TV — it's slick, it's simple and it works.”
Inconsistent Control, Consistent Frustration: Imagine settling down to watch a bunch of movies, only to be slapped around by controls that keep changing. One app lets you rewind with your fingers, another with buttons, and a third with a weird mix of the two. Unfortunately, this is how Google TV works.
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Yes, Google TV is a very good smart TV system. It's easy to use, works well with other Google products, and has a wide selection of apps and games from the Play Store. Does Google TV have a Play Store? Yes, Google TV has the Google Play Store, where you can download many apps and games, just like on an Android phone.
Google TV can be accessed on smart TVs and streaming devices with Google TV built in, and through the Google TV mobile app for Android or iOS. The only Chromecast devices with access to the built in Google TV experience are the "Chromecast with Google TV" devices.
If you're having trouble casting video using Google Cast functionality to your Android TV, make sure you're using the current version of the Google Cast Receiver. For best results, make sure your Google Cast Receiver is updated to version 1.33 or higher.
It's the de facto smart TV interface for new Google-powered TVs and set-top boxes released by major manufacturers. Rather than being a new operating system, Google TV is a software layer that runs on top of Android TV. As such, they're similar in many ways.
You can download apps by accessing the Google Play Store on your Google TV and Android TV. The Google Play Store is where you can find all the apps available on both Google TV and Android TV.
Smart TVs run on an Operating System (OS), which is very similar to a computer or a smartphone and allows them to connect to the internet. The most popular Operating System is Android OS, and Smart TVs that run on the Android Operating System are also called Android TVs.
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