Last month the Google TV Streamer was announced as a replacement for the Chromecast line and it’s arriving in stores today for $100. As part of that, Google is bringing TV Streamer features like the the smart home panel and AI to Google TVs from Hisense and others.
A key feature is the previously announced home panel that’s now coming to Google TVs as well. You can see and control all compatible smart home devices (lights, thermostats, cameras, etc.) directly on your TV either with your voice or the Google Assistant. New doorbell notifications also show you who’s at the front door without pausing your program.
Google also announced a few new features we haven’t seen yet. If you want to use your TV as a picture frame, the Ambient screensaver displays Google photos and even lets you create AI-generated designs through a series of prompts. The latter is a pretty novel feature, if you don’t mind looking at soulless machine-created art.
Speaking of AI, Google is adding “enhanced” Gemini-created AI overviews (above) for popular movies and series on streaming services like HBO. “These overviews include full summaries, audience reviews and season-by-season breakdowns” to help you choose a show, Google said.
Other new features include a new sports page in the For You tab that puts games, YouTube highlights, commentary and more in one place. Google also added a guide for its live TV Freeplay service (previously soft-launched) so you can better keep track of its 150 or so free channels. The new features are set to roll out today on the Google TV Streamer and smart Google TVs from Hisense and TCL, or projectors from Epson and XGIMI.
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