Android TV announced, major manufacturers onboard

Google announced today (Wednesday, 25 June 2014) that the upcoming version of Android, which Google is currently calling “the L release”, will run on televisions in addition to smartphones and tablets.

Speaking to developers attending the 2014 Google I/O conference in San Francisco, California, Android engineering director Dave Burke said that the Android TV interface was designed to be controlled with only a d-pad and voice.

Burke said that there will also be a TV-centric Google Play store experience, offering apps and games for download that run on TVs.

Android TV supports Google Cast, so you can use it just like a Chromecast, Burke said.

Among the new cast features announced for the L release of Android include smartphone screen-mirroring to any Android TV, and casting YouTube videos from a phone to a nearby supported Android screen over the Internet.

Burke said that Android TV can run on a many different processors.

Sony, Sharp, TP Vision, and Philips will run Android TV, Burke said, with the entire 2015 high definition and 4K smart TV ranges from these manufacturers adopting Android L.

Razer and Asus are also making streaming set-top boxes running Android, he added.

Android L will release “this fall” (September – November 2014) for users, while developers will be able to download it later today.

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