Google has provided an update on the state of its Android TV ecosystem at a time when it appears to be gradually transitioning the platform to Google TV.
Probably the biggest takeaway is that Android TV now has more than 10,000 dedicated applications available for users to download. It’s an impressive milestone because each of those apps has been designed specifically for larger TV displays, and doesn’t include the far more numerous mobile apps on the standard Android platform.
Google made the announcement last week at its Google I/O 2022 developer conference, according to 9to5Google.
In Google’s last update on the matter back in 2020 it said there were around 7,000 Android TV apps, so that’s some fairly decent ecosystem growth - decent enough that Google feels it’s worth shouting about, in any case. It’s worth pointing out that those applications work with both Android TV and Google TV devices such as televisions, media players and set-top boxes.
As impressive as the number is, Google is apparently still some way behind rival TV platforms. For instance, Roku apparently has more than 30,000 TV apps according to the application intelligence firm 42matters. Meanwhile Apple’s tvOS has 18,000, and even Amazon FireTV has 15,500. And they may well be conservative estimates of those rival ecosystems, as the same website puts Android TV at just 6,041 apps, some way off Google’s claim.
In any case it’s hard to argue there’s not plenty to choose from. Android TV boasts a ton of streaming apps, including both local and international ones, many of which are free though the content may not always be great. Viewers can also find various health and fitness apps, plus music streaming platforms and even a few smart home applications for those who like their gadgets. Android TV also has games, though admittedly nowhere near the same kind of selection as what the mobile Android app store has to offer.
Gaming may well be the best avenue for Android and Google TV to expand its app ecosystem further though. The advent of cloud gaming means that TVs no longer need capable hardware built in to support advanced games and graphics. For now though, uptake of Google’s Stadia game streaming platform remains fairly low.
As far as Android/Google TV’s user base goes, it’s growing at a fairly rapid rate. At Google I/O, the company said the two platforms boast a combined 110 million active devices, up by 30 million since last year, when that number was just 80-odd million. Google also said Android/Google TV has more than 300 partners globally, of which around 170 are pay TV providers.
Although Google has yet to announce the demise of Android TV, that appears to be what is happening. Google’s own Chromecast device and also TVs from Hisense, Sony and TCL now all run the Google TV platform, and Philips is reportedly also going to do so with its TVs from next year. Google is said to be actively encouraging its hardware partners to adopt Google TV over Android TV.