Google is once again plotting to take control of our living
rooms through a new smart TV platform that’s simple and easy to use, focused
and one that’s not trying to be a smartphone OS ported into a smart TV.
According to documents obtained by The Verge, the new TV platform to be called Android TV will still
be based on Android but will be built to be more of an entertainment hub rather
than a computing platform and should provide consumers with the content they
want with “the least amount of friction”.
To do this, the search giant is removing any unnecessary apps
in the OS that is not needed for watching videos and only retained those that
deliver relevant video content to consumers including Vevo, YouTube, Google
Play Movies, Hangouts, Netflix, Hulu and Pandora to name a few.
Based on the screenshots, Android TV will be consists of a
set of scrolling cards that represent movies, shows, apps and games, which are
accessed by a remote control. The remote control will feature a four-way
directional pad and additional navigation buttons such as Enter, Back and Home.
There will also be optional game controllers.
Android TV will also reportedly support voice input and
notifications, though Google is advising developers to incorporate
notifications in very limited cases. Of course, a recommendation feature will
be included in the platform.
Google is said to allegedly talking to select app developers
to create apps ad games for Android TV and encouraging them to build apps with
a consistent interface.
At the moment, the future of Android TV remains uncertain,
so we do suggest taking this news with a bit of salt. For starters, Google
already has the Chromecast in the market which makes Android TV quite
redundant. And second is that Android TV can also directly compete with the
company’s hardware partners such as LG who are using WebOS in its TVs.
