Google's Android TV smart television platform was late to the party, and it isn't as popular as other streaming technologies that are ahead of the game, but Google is playing catch up with a host of new apps that significantly increase how much content can be viewed on an Android TV.
Google+ user Kawshik Ahmed posted a screenshot of some of the apps that will be compatible with Android TV, and these include many of the most popular streaming apps already available in other set-top boxes. Namely, these apps are HBO Now, FXNow, UFC, BuzzFeed Video, Vimeo, WWE, CBS Sports, Twitch, USA Today, CNET, Qello and Fox News. Currently, these apps are not available to Android TV, though some of them can be streamed via Google's $35 Chromecast dongle.
In the future, Android TV will also include support for HBO Go, which is similar to HBO Now but it needs a conventional cable subscription, CBS News, Fox Sports, Fox Now, EPIX and Vudu, according to NVIDIA, which recently introduced its own Shield set-top box running on Android TV with support for 4K streaming and several advanced gaming features.
Google, however, has not made announcements on when these apps will become available, although Google spokespersons announced during the I/O developers' conference that HBO Now will become part of Android TV this summer, while CBS apps are getting ready to launch now, says Tech Hive.
To further give Android TV an app boost, Google is also tweaking its Play Store to include more TV apps in its listing. Previously, Google only listed a handful of Android TV apps, giving off the impression that despite its massive hold on the app market, there are not very many apps for the TV platform. However, users can now find more Android TV apps listed on Play Store, including TED TV, Bloomberg TV+ and Musixmatch TV.
Additionally, Google is adding new streaming channels to Android TV, and these include AOL, Bloomberg, Pluto, TED, The Huffington Post, The Weather Network and Vevo. These streaming channels can be set to appear next to traditional cable channels via Android TV's Live Channels app, but users still need to use a networked TV tuner or one of the few Sony or Sharp televisions with Android TV built in.
However, program manager for Android TV Sascha Prueter says his team is working on making streaming channels available through Live Channels even without the cable channels.
