Google has announced Android 12 for TV, which introduces a few new cast features as well as a new remote control features for Android and iOS. Here is what we know so far.
Android 12 for TV
Android 12 will make it easier to use Android TV devices for multiroom music with two new features called 'Stream Transfer' and 'Stream Expansion'.
'Stream Transfer' allows a user to ask Google Assistant to move music from a connected speaker onto, for example, an Android TV. That is possible with commands like "Hey Google, move the music to the living room TV".
'Stream Expansion' enables the user to add Android TV devices to multiroom, meaning that music can play on multiple devices at once. It is also known as 'Temporary Speaker Group' because it is not permanent pairing. It will work with music but not TV audio.
Android 12 gains Stream Transfer and Stream Expansion
And with 'Cast Connect', Google is expanding cast support.
- "With Cast Connect, users can Cast directly to the Android TV native app and use their ATV remote. This improves the user experience compared to standard Cast," explained Google.
New remote control features
Google is also adding new remote control features directly to mobile Android (11 and 12), via the quick settings menu, making it easier to type in user names and search queries on Android TV and Google TV.
The new remote control features for Android TV
The new remote features will replace the company's abandoned standalone remote app.
On Apple iPhone and iPad the new remote features will be added to the Google Home app.
Google added that it has signed up over 250 hardware partners and that users have access to over 8000 apps on Android TV.
Android 12 for TV is available now in beta on Google's ADT-3 media box. It will be released publicly later but no timeline was provided. Considering that most Android TV devices are still running version 9 or 10, it might take a while.
- Source: Google
