Google ambitious drive into set-top box may have received a major boost, as the software is popping up on new set-tops, such as Nvidia’s second-generation Shield TV, which definitely is the headliner. It is also running in the AirTV and provides over-the-air DVR solutions like Tablo Engine and Plex, among other convergence enabling.
Google has announced plans to integrate Google Assistant and overhaul the Android TV interface, and with several features it showed off at its I/O developers conference.
Albeit, there’s not been much evidence of new streaming boxes to run the latest software and whether existing ones like the Shield will get upgraded to Oreo anytime soon.
While Android 8.0 Oreo remains a major upgrade for Android TV, notwithstanding it’s missing some key features, it still manages to provide some stunning display with the Nexus Player, which is the only device that supports the new software.
And Google could as well bundle a USB TV tuner to showcase Android TV’s over-the-air channel integration to help put Android TV on the consumers' watch-list.
But, there’s little evidence that Google might back its set-top operating system with new hardware, as recent Google’s upcoming hardware plans didn’t include Android TV.
The company, however claims that the software is activated on about 500,000 devices per month, which isn't quite a mucked up result. And the platform enjoys an unusual beneficial relationship with Amazon’s Fire TV, which runs a modified version of Android.
As a result, apps that arrive on Amazon's Fire TV also tend to show up on set-tops running Android TV after sometime.
Certainly Android TV isn't going away anytime soon, if Google will start treating it the way it deserves.
