Where are all the native apps? Like the store is just full (still barely anything) of crap apps I have no use for and the other features like netflix etc are normal features of any non android TV these days. I get we can sideload but then thats just a workaround and not a solution.
Smart home TV apps need to be a priority here and I truly think the automated/AI home market will be the next huge growth area for technology now smart phones are stagnating.
Android Tv is very successful product. There is hardly any competition left in operator tier, almost all new devicers are Android TV
Nhl, Filo TV, NFL ticket, CW, Boomerang all just released apps.
DirectTV is releasing a streaming box.
What on Earth are you talking about?
Nvidia shield TV is the best TV box you can buy. Seems to be a successful product to me.
The possibility space for apps on a TV with a directional pad is just far more limited than for a mobile devices with a touch screen.
The apps aren't missing, the use cases are. I honestly can't think of anything I would want to do with my Android TV that it can't already do.
smart home tv apps. doesnt make a bit of sense. what google needs to do is urge media companies to update their android tv apps as quickly as they do the apple tv apps. apple tv isnt even a niche but always gets timely updates and features. google needs to do the same. worrying about smart home apps makes zero sense because most of the smart home users arent very bright.
It's future is oems making better set top boxes and tvs. Directv is seems is going all in. Other cable companies and TV makers just need to make better equipment.
But I agree. Google home needs better integration and Google assistant needs to work better with it.
I had a Hisense 65" Android TV for about 2 days. Hated it. Lack of native apps, the soft remote was garbage, and it was slow. LOTS of software bugs, too. Ex: Every time I removed a channel or channels from the home screen, they came back in about an hour. Disabled apps also reenabled themselves. Returned for a TCL Series 6 Roku TV. Much prefer the OS as it's "easier" for my kids to use. The app selection is phenomenal and the soft remote is choice.
I'm waiting for TV's with far field mics that work better than google home.
Android 9.0 Pie came out months ago and it still has not been released for Android TV. It's fair to say Google doesn't care about their products. That been said, Android TV will likely still be around a long time. The install base of the Shield TV and Mi Box is dramatic along with all the built in sets.
Android TV is by far the most versatile TV OS so it's here to stay.
People have said this from the beginning yet the Shield is still far more usable than any other device I have. I don't know anything that's missing for any other reason than company politics and paid exclusives. I have very few sideloaded apps so things are just on the store.
It's sticking around for sure. I think it will only continue to grow more and more. I believe that it will eventually over take the most popular Smart TV OS eventually. (Not counting Roku stick, or Fire Stick, only counting Smart TVs).
It's on all Sony TV's which is probably the 3rd most popular selling TV, plus it's on many Sharp TV's, it's on Westinghouse TV's, and it's on Hisense TV's. Plus on just boxes like the Nvidia shield and Mi Box.
There's easily over 10 million house holds with Android TV in some shape or form in the world. Google would never drop a product that is so many house holds. So even though it's very likely to be the most popular Smart TV OS, the growth is very slow, so it will take another 3-4 years before that happens.
Unless Google releases another Android TV streaming box and they market it as much as they do the Pixel 3. In that case it could be the most popular in 2 years if they do that.
The painful slow growth of Android TV is killing me though.
Stuff like the Hulu app still using the old interface and not supporting Hulu TV really hurts it. I just bought a Shield TV without knowing this and it's making me consider returning it. The rumour that Hulu will release an update early '19 is the only reason I might keep it.
google also drops successful projects/products. So all we can do is wait and see
The ADT-2 is out there, we should be ok for a while.
Problems with Android TV:
Google are slowly getting there, optimizing the OS and implementing project treble. They are coming from a long way back tho vs their major media player competitors.
I think Android TV will remain barebones and an app wasteland forever.
Reason is, Google is all about mobile and cloud, so they will focus on Android TV being a dumb terminal to display Chromecast apps from phones.
Which absolutely sucks but such is life.
Case in point: Picasa. They buy the company that made what was arguably the best, lightweight image management software on the market. Then they kill it in favor of Google photos.
A decade later, there's still no feature parity between Picasa and Google photos. 😥
Yes because it's not a part of Google it's a product of alphabet the parent company .
Since Android TV is based on Android, which for phones is the market leader. I don't see it going away anytime soon.
Also Google just announced that 100 Providers are using Android TV on there STB (most of them not in the US). They are also on alot of TVs (Sony TV).
Android TV seems to slowly be getting apps (we just got NHL app this week). Yet it's biggest advantage is it just works as Chromecast. Chromecast is hugely popular and alot easier for Developers to add then make a whole new app. So I think alot of developers are just going the Chromecast route rather than make a dedicated app, which is more work for little gain.