The NVIDIA SHIELD TV is now in the process of receiving its latest update.
Arriving as SHIELD Software Experience Upgrade 7.2.3, the update is fairly minor in most respects although the additions and fixes are likely to be of value to certain users of the Android TV device.
What is arguably the most universal useful feature is the option to restart the Wi-Fi. There are many reasons as to why you might want to do this, including a bad connection or simply the Wi-Fi option you want to connect to not showing as available. Previously, there was little you could do in these situations short of rebooting the device, although with the latest update you will now be able to manually reset/refresh the Wi-Fi.
To access this new feature, head to Settings, then to Network and select Restart Wi-Fi.
NVIDIA has also confirmed the new update improves the HDMI-CEC power controls which should lead to a better experience when trying to control devices connected via HDMI. How improved the experience is remains to be seen although NVIDIA specifically points to greater “customizability.”
Also now on offer is support for the Xbox Elite controller which will appeal to those who turn to the SHIELD for gaming.
At the app level, support has now been added for a number of new apps including the official NHL app, the official NCAA March Madness app, Kodi 18, Philo TV, Bleacher Report Live and the Smithsonian app.
Users of any of these apps will probably already be aware of the support as though they are now being declared in the update, some of them were already available on the SHIELD.
For example, the NCAA March Madness app went live last week and with it came Android TV support in general. Even earlier than that, the official NHL app became widely available for Android mobile and Android TV in December of 2018. Likewise, at the end of January Kodi 18.0 “Leia” became available on both Android mobile and TV.
The SHIELD TV is not only one of the most popular Android TV devices on the market, but it is also one of the best-supported in terms of updates. This not only applies to the newest 2017 model but also the 2015 model which makes the level of support all the more impressive.
These updates have become so commonplace with NVIDIA that they are a selling point on their own and this is even more true in the Android TV market specifically, where updates can be a problem for some makers/devices. Although some of these SHIELD updates offer massive changes and feature upgrades, even the smaller ones are usually useful in their own right – as is the case with this latest one.
Speaking of which, the SHIELD Software Experience Upgrade 7.2.3 is now in the process of rolling out and so some users will likely already have it ready and waiting to install next time the SHIELD is fired up.
Those who don’t already have access to the update should expect to see it arrive on their device in the coming hours and days.