Android TV was one of the new Android platforms announced at this year’s Google I/O event along with Android One and Android Auto. Like Android Auto though, Android TV seems to be taking its time in reaching the market. In reality, it probably is not taking that long, but with the demand for ‘Android in the living room’ being so high, it cannot come soon enough. We have already seen the first generation of Android TV landing in the form of Google’s own box, the Nexus Player. But as a third party option, it seems the wait is continuing into 2015.
That said, the platform is moving along and slowly inching closer. Last week we saw a few signs of life when Google uploaded a new Live TV streaming app for Android TV to the Play Store. This was appropriately dubbed ‘Live Channels for Android TV’ and as the name suggests allows for streaming of live TV. That said, with the lack of available outlets for Android TV, the app was generally (for the moment ay least) quite useless to most people.
Well, it seems the next core Android TV app has just hit the Play Store too. This one will be integral to the function of Android TV as it is the ‘Android TV launcher’ and should take care of all of the baseline features of your Android TV device. Although, this will no doubt come pre-installed on Android TV devices, it is believed the launcher is being uploaded to the Play Store to offer quicker and more effective updating when needed. If you want to download the launcher then you can by heading over to the Play Store listing. Although, it is worth remembering that unless you have an Android TV device, then this won’t actually be compatible with any of your devices. That said, it is always nice to see something new which is Android TV related. Are you looking forward to Android TV becoming more widely available? Looking forward to next year’s TV’s which will come with Android TV built-in? Whatever you think of the new platform, leave a comment and let us know.