Move Over Google TV, Chromecast? Google Reportedly Prepping Android TV
(The Verge)
Android TV, which would compete with the Apple TV and Amazon’s recently launched Fire TV, is said to be focused on simplifying search and will be proactive in making viewing recommendations.
Google was actually the first of the big tech companies to attempt a set-top box. And while Google TV garnered a lot of headlines when it was launched, and a host of companies from Sony to LG attempted to integrate the platform either into their TVs or into set-top boxes of their own, the idea died a slow death.
This time around, however, the company seems to have learned its lesson.
Where Google TV was meant to make televisions smarter, Android TV is, like a host of competitors from Roku to Apple and now Amazon, focused instead on curating as much content as possible. But, more importantly, presenting it in a way that makes it easy for consumers to find the thing they want to watch, when they want to watch it.
According to internal documents seen by The Verge, a host of major apps for the project are already in development, and the finished product is set to be an “entertainment interface, not a computing platform. It’s all about finding and enjoying content with the least amount of friction.”
The documents go on to claim that Android TV’s goal is to be cinematic, fun, fluid, and fast.
In terms of interface, it will use the same card system that will be familiar to users of Google Now and, just like the contextual search service will “push” recommendations to people. In other words, it is going to be plugged in and proactive. The system will also respond to voice commands, and the goal is to serve up a show or a film within three clicks.
What isn’t clear is how Android TV will sit alongside the Chromecast, the HDMI streaming dongle that Google launched at its I/O developers conference in 2013. Affordable, accessible, and simple to use, the little device plugs into the back of a television and can be used for mirroring content from an Android or Apple device to the big screen. It also has a growing ecosystem of apps for watching movies and catch-up TV.
