Android TV lands in more TVs, adds HDR support, snags lots of new apps

By Caleb Denison Published June 20, 2017

Android TV didn’t get much stage time at Google’s I/O 2016 keynote Wednesday, but according to the official Android blog, Google’s TV OS and streaming TV platform is expanding its reach into some more TVs and set-top boxes, and has gained an impressive array of new streaming app partners.

For televisions, Sony will continue to use Android TV as its OS of choice for its 2016 Bravia TV line. Sony will soon be joined by RCA, which is expected to introduce its first Android TV models to U.S. customers later this year. In Europe, Beko, Grundig and Vestel will introduce Android TV models in June.

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For set-top boxes, Sharp’s NetPlayer, as well as Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi’s mysterious 4K set-top box, will run the Android TV platform.

Google has also added some key streaming service apps, namely CNN, Comedy Central, MTV, Freeform, Nickelodeon, Spotify, Starz, WATCH ABC, WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH Disney Junior, and ESPN. The addition of Starz was noted earlier Wednesday, when it was also learned that Starz would launch HDR programming through its over-the-top app first.

One might hope that would mean Android N would then allow Android TV to support HDR, and, indeed, it does. Other new features coming to Android TV include picture-in-picture for browsing around while a video plays in the background, and recording APIs for recording live TV programming.

Google Cast is also making an expansion. The system, which allows users to “cast” content to their TV without the need for add-on hardware like the Chromecast, first appeared in Vizio’s lineup of P-series televisions. Now, Google Cast will reportedly be coming to Magnavox, Philips, Polaroid, Toshiba, and Westinghouse televisions, thus putting some pressure on Roku-enabled TVs.

With Google Home on the horizon, Google is building a pretty compelling case for its home entertainment ecosystem — and a strong alternative to Amazon’s Echo speaker — by allowing users to launch programming on their televisions or set-top boxes using voice commands. What is not clear is whether Google’s new digital assistant will ultimately end up enabled on the televisions themselves, or if users will have to invest in a Home speaker.

Former Editor at Large

Caleb Denison is a sought-after writer, speaker, and television correspondent with unmatched expertise in AV and…

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I desperately want a new classic Walkman, but Sony probably can’t give me one

Tech minimalism is begging for a new Walkman. Though rebuilding it may be close to impossible

Sony Walkman WM2011

Every few months, another piece of tech that seems obsolete crawls out of a drawer and becomes cool again. The age of minimalism has revived the popularity of iPods among younger buyers. Dumbphones have become an escape hatch from endless notifications. Similarly, digital cameras are dangling from bags again. Physical media keeps attracting people who want something they can actually hold instead of another frustrating subscription.

All of this makes it the perfect time for Sony to bring back the classic Walkman, which was a phenomenon during the 80s and 90s. I would love one. Give me a compact cassette player, physical buttons, and wired headphones. Keep the apps, notifications, and algorithms that shape your taste of music. No more AI assistants or personalzied feeds, just you and your Walkman. There is only one problem though. Recreating the Walkman that people love and remember, would be far harder than putting an old design back into production.

Audio / Video

Proton reveals how smart TVs track you and the escape situation is pretty grim

Modern smart TVs fingerprint your screen content at the chipset level.

Google TV applications on the Sony A95K TV.

Your smart TV may know far more about your viewing habits than you realize, even if you rarely use its smart features. In a new privacy explainer, Proton warns that many modern TVs quietly collect data about everything displayed on the screen and share it with manufacturers, advertisers, and analytics companies.

The worrying part is that escaping this tracking is becoming increasingly difficult because many privacy controls are buried deep in settings or enabled by default. Proton argues that buying a smart TV today often means accepting a level of surveillance that most people never knowingly signed up for.