Google TV OS adds support for backlit remotes

Could a future Google TV Streamer come with a backlit remote? Google has officially added support for three backlight modes.

The new OS-level support for backlit remotes, which is not yet active in the menus, was discovered in the recent software update for the Google TV Streamer by AFTVNews.

To be clear, some Google TV devices, including certain TV models from popular brands, already come with a backlit remote, implemented by the manufacturer, but this new OS-level support unlocks additional functionality.


Three backlight modes
As found in the code of the recent update, the Google TV operating system will initially support three backlight modes for remotes:
'Never' mode, which keeps the backlight off
'Standard' mode, where the backlight illuminates for 5 seconds with each press
'Scheduled' mode, which works like 'Standard' but is active only between 6 PM and 6 AM
 The code found in the recent Google TV Streamer software update. Photo: AFTVNews

This new functionality in Google TV may hint at Google's plans to introduce a backlit remote control for the Chromecast and/or Google TV Streamer devices. However, this remains purely speculative at this stage.

- Source: AFTVNews