Google TV simplifies the viewing experience for users

At the recent launch night event, Google launched new smart home products alongside Pixel 5 and 4a 5G. Included among these smart home products is a brand-new Chromecast. This year’s Chromecast comes with Google’s brand-new experience for smart TVs — the aptly-named Google TV.

Google TV is a brand-new service that brings together all the movies, shows, live TV, and more from a wide range of apps and subscriptions. It also brings in some Google smarts to help users find their next content to watch.

Powered by Google Assistant

Google is highlighting how easy it is to discover movies and shows on their brand-new service. Users can ask through its ever-present Google Assistant and they will see results across their favorite apps. These apps include Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, Rakuten Viki, YouTube, and many more.

The company also made improvements to the Knowledge Graph to better understand and organize media content into topics and genres. Also, searches now include trending titles from Google Search so viewers can quickly get into action.

Live TV integration and helpful answers on the go

For Google TV users in the US, Google is introducing a helpful feature that blurs the line between live TV and digital content. Now, users will see recommendations for both contents. Plus, there’s a “Live” tab highlights what’s playing and what’s next. Though, a YouTube TV membership is required to access live TV content.

Users can also search for helpful answers through Google Assistant. They can ask Google about weather information, sports scores, and more. Plus, they can also control connected smart home devices using their voice.

Other features include an ambient mode that showcases the user’s featured images from Google Photos. Support for Google’s cloud gaming service — Stadia — is also coming in the first half of 2021. And since Google TV is built on top of Android, users can still access a huge library of 6,500 apps built for the OS.

Coming soon to more TVs and mobile devices

For now, Google TV is available only on the newest Chromecast. The company is working with Sony and other partners to bring Google TV to more devices by 2021. The company says that it is also coming to mobile devices as part of Play Movies & TV rebranding.