Google TV is being updated with new features that will help to reduce the amount of storage space taken up by applications, in addition to a few performance improvements that it says will speed up the home screen interface.
The new updates are coming to all Google TV devices, including Google TV sticks, Chromecast devices and TVs from Sony, Hisense, Philips, TCL and other brands.
The storage optimizations are enabled by a new feature called “App Bundles”, which are rolling out now, Google said. The company first announced its transition from the Android Application Package to the Android App Bundle format in November last year. With App Bundles, individual apps are sliced into smaller parts, reducing the install size. Google has implemented a May 2023 deadline for all Google TV developers to switch to the new format.
According to Google’s blog post, App Bundles will reduce the size of apps by around 25%.
There’s also a new “App Hibernation” feature that will automatically make applications inactive when they’re not used for 30 days, freeing up more storage space. To benefit from this, devices must be running Android 12 or later, Google said.
The new storage features have been applied via a server-side update on all eligible devices, the company said in a blog post. They follow an update last summer, in which Google introduced a “Free up storage” option on its Settings menu.
As for the performance upgrades, these will be just as welcome as the additional storage space, for the Google TV interface tends to run quite slowly on some older hardware.
Google explained that it has managed to reduce the time it takes for Google TV to wake up when it’s in standby mode. Also, it has reduced the response time between clicks on the remote and the TV, and the amount of time it takes to reboot the device.
“These improvements are already rolling out to your devices and will help you get to your content faster,” Google promised.
Finally, Google said it’s planning yet more upgrades for Google TV later this year. It didn’t reveal any specifics, but Google has previously mentioned that it wants to add fitness features and smart home controls to Google TV, so we might see something along those lines.
The updates are timely, as Google is accelerating its transition from Android TV to Google TV. It said that more TV and streaming device makers will switch to the newer operating system later this year.
