Google TV’s days were numbered, the moment Google announced Android TV as a platform. While Google TV struggled to make headway, the fast adoption of Chromecast and the ‘Google Cast’ wireless standard, meant that the new platform would be much more commercially viable for manufacturers. Today, the Google TV Developers page on Google+ has addressed the demise of Google TV, the rise of Android TV and the future.
The post is really a definitive farewell to development of the platform, with the team advising that ‘Existing Google TV devices and all of the features of these devices will continue to work, and so will the apps you’ve developed for the Google TV platform’. So the end is really a holding pattern for those who really love Google TV as a platform.
Owners of some Google TV boxes will be pleasantly surprised to find that some Google TV devices will be updated to Android TV – though they fail to mention which ones. Given that Google TV releases in Australia were extremely few, numbering just one official launch from Sony, we doubt too many people will even notice.
Finally, the Google TV Developer teams are encouraging developers to transition over to Android TV. Libraries for Google TV won’t be available any longer, however Android TV is much more suited to Android developers and the Leanback support libraries are now online and ready for perusal.
Google TV was a platform that was needed to get to Android TV, many of the experiences and technologies from the platform are no doubt present in Android TV, but for now, it’s goodbye Google TV, hello Android TV.
Have you got your eye on an Android TV device as yet? Which one?
