Google TV just got a serious performance boost — here’s what we know

Google TV with Google TV remote — (Image credit: Future)

Google TV is gaining steam as one of the more popular smart TV platforms. Between the best Google TVs and Chromecast with Google TV, there are now a lot of devices that rely on the platform to get the best shows and movies in front of you.

And now, head of Google IO 2023 next week, it’s getting a serious upgrade.

First, Google is introducing App Hibernation. This feature will automatically force unused apps to go into hibernation if they haven’t been accessed in over 30 days. This feature is available to all devices running Android 12 or higher and should free up some memory to give your device a boost. (Note: Google’s post referred to “Android S”, which likely refers to Android 12 due to its codename “Snow Cone”.)

The Chromecast with Google TV HD — (Image credit: Henry T. Casey for Tom's Guide)

The other storage improvement will reduce the size of your Google TV apps by approximately 25%. This is through Google leveraging a feature called Android App Bundles and should definitely free up some space on your Google TV or Chromecast with Google TV.

But the real highlight of these updates is the performance boosts. Google has started rolling out updates to Google TV devices and remotes in the background and they provide a series of upgrades. The wake-up time for Google TV has been reduced and the response time between the remote and Google TV has also shrunk. Loading animations and reboot times have also been cut to make Google TV perform faster than ever.

Google TV new user interface — (Image credit: Google)

This isn’t Google’s only recent upgrade to Google TV either. Back in February, Google drastically overhauled Google TV’s cluttered home screen. The Google TV homescreen was the biggest complaint from numerous members of our staff so Google simplifying the user interface was a massive improvement.

Thinking about picking up a smart TV or a new streaming device? Now may be the best time yet to make the switch to Google TV. Some of the best TVs now have Google TV built-in and the Chromecast with Google TV 4K is one of the best streaming devices we’ve ever tested.

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Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.