Philips introduced Android in its 2014 TVs, and starting in 2015 the company will support Google’s new Android TV platform. Philips tells FlatpanelsHD that it will go all-in and integrate Android TV in 80 percent of its 2015 line-up.
Philips is all-in on Android TV
FlatpanelsHD had a chance to get a sneak peek at the entire 2015 line-up. Unfortunately, we cannot talk about it yet but we walked away with lots on information of Philips’ plans for HDR (high dynamic range) and Android TV. Here is what we learned about Android TV.
Android TV will be available in 80% of Philips’ 2015 TVs that will be rolled out in spring, which means that Philips is pushing harder than Sony and Sharp that will also integrate Android TV in 2015. Only the low-end Philips TVs will be sold without the new TV platform.
There will be some differences in processor speed and storage (for apps) between the high-end and mid-range models. However, Philips assures us that users can connect an external hard drive to expand that capacity. The same hard drive can be used to record TV shows.
The user interface looks identical to other Android TV, as it is dictated by Google, but Philips’ TVs come pre-installed with a few app such as the Cloud TV service that Philips introduced last year. These apps show up in a manufacturer-specific horizontal “bar” on the main page, which will also let TV manufacturers promote deals such as “get discount on X movie as a Philips customer”.
The Android platform will also integrate with Ambilight (and Hue) in Philips’ TVs, giving you the Ambilight experience when streaming from Netflix, Spotify and all the other services.
The 2015 line-up will be unveiled later. In the meantime, you can look forward to hearing more about our hands-on experiences with Android TV in the three manufacturers’ TVs.
