Android 14 has finally become available for TV devices, including Google TV. The first devices are expected to get the update later this year.
For TVs, Google has made decided to skip Android 13 and jump straight to Android 14.
In an official statement, Google said, “We’re bringing Android 14 to TV! The next generation of Android provides improvements in performance, sustainability, accessibility, and multitasking.”
The company claims the new update brings “a snappier, more responsive TV experience.”
One of the new features available for Google TVs via the Android 14 update is Energy mode, which helps reduce the TV standby power consumption, preventing content from continuing when input modes change or the panel switches off.
Last year, Google revealed that later in the year Chromecast with Google TV, select Google TVs running Android 14, and select LG TVs (without Google TV) would be upgraded to function as home hubs.
Google TVs containing a Thread chip can act as a Thread border router, which is similar to Google Nest Hub and Apple TV 4K.
According to a Developer Relations Engineer on Android, Paul Lammertsma, this latest version improves boot latency, which is the time it takes for the device to boot up.
Also reportedly improved is the cold start-up time of the home screen launcher. It’s reported to be reduced by “over four seconds.”
Additionally, Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode is also now supported on “qualified” TV models.
At the moment, PiP is limited to non-media purposes, like displaying a video camera feed.
Google has also revealed its plans to use AI for content recommendations and descriptions. This feature is expected to appear on TVs running an earlier version of Android.
Also discovered in Android 14 were references to a ‘Find My Remote’ feature.
There will also be a new ‘Magic’ shortcut, as well as Fast Pair for headphone pairing. These are already available on select devices.
Google has announced that this Android 14 update will appear in the first devices later this year.
Currently, there are no TV makers who have announced rollout schedules for this update. New Google TVs, including Philips, TCL, and Sony will launch on Android 12.
Chromecast with Google TV still also runs Android 12, and it’s tipped that the hardware revision of the 4K Chromecast will be the first device to get the update.