Google has reportedly confirmed that it has no plans to upgrade its smart TV operating system software to Android 15. Instead, it will skip directly to Android 16 when that platform is released later this year, which means Google TV could be in line for a major update soon.
The Android operating system is the foundation on which Google TV is built, and it generally gets a major facelift every year. We’re currently on Android 15, which launched last year, and the Android 16 release is slated to launch in the second half of the year.
But Android is primarily a platform for smartphones and tablets, such as Samsung’s Galaxy handsets, and that remains the focus. While those devices are still getting annual updates, Google appears to have shifted to a two-year release cadence with Android TV, which is a special version of Android that’s optimized for living room screens.
The current Google TV platform is based on Android 14, which was released in 2023. It was expected that Google TV would receive a longer overdue update to Android 15 later this year, but that’s not going to happen. Instead, if we’re lucky, we may see Google TV updated to Android 16 shortly after it’s released.
Android Authority was the first to report this nugget of information, citing an invitation it had received to attend Google’s annual Google I/O conference, which will take place on May 20-21. It cites a technical session titled "Engage users on Google TV with excellent TV apps" that mentions “preparing for Android 16 for TV”, and that suggests an update is likely to arrive soon.
The news is not entirely shocking, though, as Google previously also skipped an Android 13-based release for Android TV, instead going directly from Android 12 to Android 14. But prior to that, it had always announced annual updates.
It’s not clear what new features Android 16 will bring to the table for Google TV, but it’s hoped that we’ll see something more interesting than what’s appeared in the incremental updates that roll out from time to time. But if we were going to bet, we’d wager that some of the biggest new features will have something to do with AI. In its most recent update, it debuted AI-generated news overviews, and that feature is currently being tested with a small number of users.
The Google TV platform currently powers a number of premium TVs, including Sony’s flagship Mini-LED and OLED offerings, and also the Philips OLED809 and various other models from TCL, Hisense and numerous other brands. You can also find Google TV on the Google TV Streamer, which was launched last year as a replacement for the now discontinued Chromecast dongles.
Given the report, it seems likely that we’ll hear more about the future of Google TV next month.
