For what it’s worth, Android TV has seemed like a very cool product from the beginning, and in this case the beginning was merely back at the end of June when Google officially unveiled it to the world. Although we did get a little bit of detail on it before then thanks to some leaked screenshots. Even though Android TV has yet to see any sort of retail release, it seems like it may not even get that far however I’m personally looking at it as no more than speculation at this point. That doesn’t mean that we can rule out the possibility. As a quick recap on Android TV for anyone who didn’t catch its existence from the Google I/O conference, Android TV is Google’s new vision for an Android powered television experience which offers up a more refined and easily accessible package of what Google TV could of and should have been.
Although we have only seen some brief demonstrations of the device, the interface looks clean and crisp, and seems like it could really be a big hit with consumers due to its similarity to the Android Fire TV which is actually doing pretty well. According to The Information though, Android at Home’s lead, Joe Britt, is no longer employed with Google and has left the company which raises doubts about whether or not that will ultimately affect the success of the Android TV project, or at the very least, the reference unit that some I/O attendees were rewarded with for stopping in on a specific session. Interestingly, the Android TV we know now was once known as Nexus TV, a failed project that has transformed into the current version we’ve seen.
It’s easy to see why the departure of the head person from the Android At Home team could be taken as a possible grim future for a promising would be device that allows the consumer to interface with Android in the living room, especially when you look at Google’s first two attempts to do so. Google TV for a time was at least available on the market for a few years, and there were numerous variations with even some TV’s that had it baked in. The Nexus Q, a gift at a prior Google I/O event never even had the chance to make it into the hands of buyers as it never officially went on sale through the Play Store, although all people who pre-ordered were promised a free unit. Even with the lead on the project gone though, Android TV seems like something Google could pull off. It has a slick well received interface, the device is voice compatible, and it comes with a controller for handling navigation more naturally, and is ten times easier to use than those clunky remotes that came with Google TV. Hopefully all that comes out of this are slight tweaks to the platform and perhaps a different way of doing things on the team that is putting all of it together.