Google announces TV product updates and plans during I/O 2022

Google has surprised us with its handful of updates and plans for its television products during the Google I/O 2022. Here are some of the important details we received from the announcements of the company:

Android TV 13 update details

Android TV 13 got its first beta update this month, and now we get to know the exact details of where improvements were made. According to Google, the new APIs will improve the performance of apps in TV hardware. It includes the AudioManager API (for identification of playback modes available and better performance of apps in terms of audio), MediaSession API (helps Android TV and its apps get better responses to HDMI state changes), and InputDevice API (better physical keyboards complementing Android TV apps via the additional new keyboard layouts). Lastly, Google announced the expansion of Android TV 13 support for picture-in-picture through the updated API in Android 13. The company detailed some of the improvements that users could notice in this update, like the new ability of video calling apps to alter the size of a PiP window.

Android TV OS gets 3,000 more apps

The company revealed during Google I/O 2022 that its Android TV now has additional 3,000 apps, bumping up the number to 10,000. The update took two years, so seeing the number of the new apps that work with the Android TV is something to amaze you. Nonetheless, it is important to note that these apps are not that significant since they are more on streaming platforms not available in the US.

Google TV is set to allow the casting of content from different streaming services via a single app

This sounds too good to be true, but if this works out, Google TV will open a new world of possibilities for viewers. Imagine getting access to your favorite shows from various streaming services just in one place and having the ability to cast them without much effort. That is the ambitious plan of Google for its Google TV app on Android. In a demo presented by the company, the casting option will be placed in each content (from a different streaming service) found within the Google TV app. The demo showed the mobile app casting Peacock’s Bel-Air reboot to a TV without launching the Peacock app. The show got played immediately with just a tap of the cast button from the Google TV app. It is still unclear how Google will convince other major streaming services to join this project, but the company promises to launch the feature “later in 2022.”