Compared to phones and even wearables, it’s less important what version of Android your smart TV is running (as long as it receives regular security patches). For its part, Google is reportedly switching to a biannual release cycle for Android TV big updates.
According to Android Authority, new (major) versions of Android TV will now be released every two years. Google informed Android TV partners of this decision earlier in 2024. That is the extent of what is known today.
The latest version today is Android TV 14, which got its first beta in June of 2023 and made more official at I/O 2024 this May. It just debuted on the Google TV Streamer a few months ago and will be coming to the Chromecast with Google TV.
Android TV 13 was a “developer release only” that wasn’t “delivered to consumer devices.” Meanwhile, most devices are on Android TV 12 (if not something earlier), like Chromecasts.
It’s unclear what version of Android the next Android TV release will be based on, but 2026 would be the presumed release year.
More broadly, while new versions of Android always bring performance enhancements and new features that developers can take advantage of, what release your smart television or streaming device is running matters a great deal less. A lot of updates to the end-user experience, in the case of Google TV, happen on an app-level, which is updated via the Play Store.
More on Android TV:
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