Google TV was launched in 2010 and had so far been successful in gaining enough OEM and developer support. The machine, with its 10-foot interface, had incorporated Chrome and Android and comes with a QWERTY physical remote. The latter allowed the consumer to interact with games, apps and online video content on TVs.
However, Google TV failed to really take off due to a number of issues such as poor customization options, laggy apps and a disappointing overall experience. As a result, the company decided to discontinue updating Google TV, making its developer tools and libraries become unavailable as well.
"While the Google TV libraries will no longer be available, we've made it really easy to transition apps to Android TV using familiar Android development tools, as well as our new Leanback support libraries," said Google and Android TV teams.
Announced in the previous year, Android TV was showcased by Google on the Nexus Player set-top streaming box. The machine also made a noise at the CES 2015 when Sony announced that it is featuring Android TV on all of its 2015 Bravia TVs. In the future, there will be more companies that are teaming up with Android TV devices. Google has identified them as Sony, Sharp and Philips.
"We expect to see an exciting lineup of Android TV devices in the coming year, including TVs from Sony, Sharp, and Philips, as well as other set-top and over-the-top boxes," added the teams.
A number of reports say that Android TV is getting a lot of approval at the CES in Las Vegas wherein several manufacturers have showed off the Android TV hardware. Companies such as Sony, Sharp and TP Vision have all expressed their support for the platform. Moreover, a number of chip makers also confirmed of giving support for Android TV. These include Qualcomm, Nvidia, MediaTek, Intel, Broadcom and ARM.
While it can be assumed that Android TV may still have some bugs appearing sporadically, there's no doubt that it is more superior to Google TV. This can be attributed to its simplicity, newer software and better hardware features. Furthermore, Google has concocted a credible list of partners who have shown willingness to support the product which include Huawei and Razer.
With the new Android TV about to become a focal point in the living room, Google promises to deliver more and enhanced video content along with multiplayer gaming. This time, the company will focus on creating a more streamlined and content-focused experience to the consumers.
