Google today announced that it is extending all of the new Google TV Streamer software features to all Google TV devices, including a smart home control panel, a new sports page, and new features powered by Gemini.
The biggest upgrade for smart home users is the new Home Panel. This smart home control panel, accessible from a tile in the Quick Settings panel, lets you control your Google Home-connected devices. Turn lights on and off, adjust brightness, trigger movie time automations, adjust your thermostat, and more, all from your remote.
The panel also lets you live stream footage from connected cameras to your TV, and shows picture-in-picture notifications when someone rings your video doorbell, for example. (Only Google Nest doorbells show PIP, but Google says other compatible buzzers will also send notifications.) You can learn more about the panel in our Google TV Streamer review.
The new Sports page on Google TV’s Recommended tab is a great addition to football this season. It collects all your sports content across all services, including YouTube highlights, and presents personalized recommendations. (Feature available in the US only.)
Several Gemini-powered AI features announced with Google TV Streamer are coming to the Google TV ecosystem, including show summaries, reviews, and season breakdowns to help you choose what to watch; an upgraded ambient mode that now uses generative AI to create screensaver art;
Google says there are now 150 free channels available with Google TV Freeplay, a US-only FAST option built into Google TV OS, and an updated channel guide that lets you browse by genre and topic.
Google also revealed that Google TV is the number one streaming platform in the world, with over 270 million monthly active devices. The company plans to expand the platform to more countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, and work with more brands to add the platform to more hardware, including smart monitors from Asus, projectors from Epson, XGIMI and Vankyo, and Art TVs from Hisense and TCL.
