Google TV gets a big free update with cool new AI and smart home skills
The new Google TV update is rolling out now with some significant new features
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TheGoogle TV Streameris on its way to early adopters, andGooglehas started to roll out a big Google TV update for it and for other Google TV devices, including many of thebest TVs. And it’s a big one, with a host of new features and smart home controls. And of course, there’s AI in there too.
The most obvious new feature is the new Home panel, which enables you to check the status of, and to control, compatible smart home devices such as thermostats, lights and cameras. You can see who’s at the front door courtesy of your video doorbell, and you can use your voice and Google Assistant to control those devices without having to mess around with the remote.
What else is new in the Google TV update
The Ambient screensaver has been given an upgrade, enabling you to use prompts to create your own screensaver designs. You can also get Google Assistant to create a screensaver based on yourGoogle Photos.
There’s a new Sports page in the For You tab, making it easier to find live and upcoming games, catchYouTubehighlights and get personalized recommendations. And there’s an updated channel guide forGoogle TV Freeplayto make it easier to find thingsamong the 150 channels of Freeplay.
You can see the new features in action on theofficial Google blog, which also notes that the range of Google TV devices is expanding: it highlights new art TVs fromHisenseandTCLas well as smart projectors from Vankyo,Epsonand XGIMI. Google TV is also expanding its geographical reach, with new countries supported including Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The rollout began yesterday, September 23, and will be coming to all Google TV devices imminently.
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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.
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