Developer Google Type Smart TV platform Operating system | Manufacturer Google Release date June 25, 2014 | |
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Graphics 1280x720, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160 | ||
Android TV is a smart TV platform developed by Google. Based on the Android 5.0 ("Lollipop") operating system or later, it creates an interactive television experience through a 10-foot user interface. It was initially announced on June 25, 2014, at Google I/O 2014 as a successor to Google's earlier attempt at a smart TV platform, which was Google TV.
Contents
- History
- Features
- Shield Android TV
- ADT 1
- Nexus Player
- Mi Box
- Other third party offerings
- Televisions
- Other devices
- References
Android TV can be built both into TVs and into stand-alone digital media players. Users have access to the Google Play Store to download Android apps, including media streaming services Netflix and Hulu, as well as games. The platform emphasizes voice search to quickly find content or to answer queries (such as which movies were nominated for an Academy Award in a specific year). The TV interface is divided vertically into three sections: recommendations on top (which update based on viewing habits), media apps in the middle, and games on the bottom. The interface can be navigated using a game controller, remote control, or the Android TV mobile app. Android TV also supports Google Cast, the technology behind Google's media player Chromecast that allows a mobile device to be used to select and control media playback on a TV.
Google has partnered with Sony, Sharp, and Philips (TP Vision) to offer the platform in TVs. Version 2 of Shield Android TV was announced at CES 2017 with Google Assistant in a future update.
History
Google and Asus co-developed the first device to employ Android TV, the Nexus Player, released in November 2014 (now discontinued). Razer released media player with a focus on gaming.
Features
Android TV allows consumers to use an HDTV set to play music, watch video originating from Internet services or a local network, and play games (Emulators and Android Games). Android TV can be paired with Bluetooth gaming controllers to interact with the system interface / applications, as well as, playing games. Android TV also includes all features and streaming capabilities of the Chromecast device.
Shield Android TV
The Shield Android TV by NVIDIA was announced on March 3, 2015, and initially marketed as the Shield Console. The branding was changed because NVIDIA did not want to appear to be competing with eighth generation consoles. Unlike the Nexus Player and the Forge TV, the Shield Android TV has a higher price point of US$200. A primary selling point of the device is the Tegra X1 chipset which is far more powerful than that of any previous Android TV device. The set-top box also has 3 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi ac. The device ships with a Wi-Fi Direct NVIDIA-branded game controller. Other features include integration with NVIDIA GameStream and GeForce NOW. As with previous NVIDIA Shield branded devices, a small selection of NVIDIA-exclusive Android-ported AAA video games are optimised for the Tegra X1 chipset.
ADT-1
The ADT-1 Developer Kit was released by Google before any commercial Android TV devices were released. The hardware was given to some Google I/O 2014 attendees and later mailed to other developers. The device uses a Tegra 4 chipset and has 16 GB of flash memory.
Nexus Player
The Google Nexus Player was the first consumer Android TV device, releasing first in the US on November 3, 2014, featuring an Intel Atom chipset and 8 GB of flash memory. It supports 1080p, but not 4K. Google has not revealed a successor to the Nexus Player and prices have been quietly cut at local retailers shortly after a September 29, 2015 event where Google revealed their next line of Nexus products along with an updated Chromecast leading to questions over the future of the Nexus Player and Android TV.
Mi Box
The Xiaomi Mi Box was first unveiled during Google I/O in May 2016, featuring an quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU with a Mali 450 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, expandable via USB. It supports 1080p and 4K.
Other third-party offerings
The Freebox Player Mini is offered by French ISP Free, and is a 4K capable Android TV set-top-box and accompanying Freebox Server FTTH/xDSL router.
The Forge TV, by Razer, was announced at CES on January 6, 2015. Featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of flash storage, a USB 3 port and a gigabit Ethernet port, the Forge TV was marketed as a micro-console rather than a multimedia device. Pre-orders began on April 23, 2015 at a price of US$100 with shipment by April 29, 2015.
Korean telecom company LG UPlus announced in May 2015 that they will introduce Android TV on U+ tvG 4K UHD and U+ tvG Woofer IPTV STB (provided by LG Electronics).
In June 2015, French telecom company Bouygues Telecom announced an integrated set-top-box code named "Miami" based on Android TV. The device launched in October.
Televisions
Sony, Sharp, and Philips announced that they would release TVs in 2015 running Android TV. All TVs on the Android TV platform will support capabilities such as Google Cast, voice search, and the Play Store app. Sony's Android TVs are currently available; in May 2015, Sony released the Bravia 2015 models running the platform. They include a regular HD model and a 4K-capable model. Sharp's television sets became available June 10, 2015, beginning with the release of two models. Philips announced that 80% of their 2015 TVs will run Android TV, the first two models of which were released in June 2015.
Other devices
At CES 2016, Google announced that Android TV devices will be available from Arcelik, Vestel, RCA, Hisense, TCL and Bang & Olufsen by the end of the year.