Google TV is about to get a whole lot better — here are four changes making a big impact

Google TV on wall in living room — (Image credit: Google)

Google TV can be found on some of the best TVs and it's getting some exciting changes that could make these displays even better.

Announced at this week's Google I/O event, a new update for Android TV, specifically Android 16, is bound for Google TV devices later this year. It will offer major improvements, like enhanced HDMI-CEC, Eclipsa Audio, a modernized interface, and much more.

Huge improvements to your TV's audio and visuals

Google TV setup vs Samsung Tizen OS — (Image credit: Future)

So what's in store for the best Google TVs? First and foremost, Eclipsa Audio, Google and Samsung's jointly-made open source Dolby Atmos competitor.

You'll first see Eclipsa supported via YouTube on select Google TV devices, but it will expand to a larger net of streaming platforms as the industry grows to accept it. When that will happen, however, is hard to say.

But Eclipsa isn't the only big change coming to Google TV devices. You'll also get improved performance out of some of the best streaming services via MediaQualityManager, a feature that will allow apps to tweak various picture performance settings where possible.

Think of it kind of like Prime Video's Calibrated Mode, except it's built into the operating system, allowing individual apps to perform similar tasks, like enhancing motion smoothing, brightness, and color temperature. It will still require platforms to provide a calibration mode akin to Prime Video's, so it's not an automatic fix, just a preemptive measure to give apps this ability across Google TV devices.

Samsung and Google Eclipsa visualization — (Image credit: Samsung)

With a fresh new interface to boot

Google TV is also going to look a lot different thanks to Material 3 Expressive, an enhanced interface that will give the OS a bolder look. It was starting to look its age, so a refresh to the interface is definitely a welcome addition.

As you'd expect, Gemini is slated to arrive on Google TV by fall this year. Beyond simple recommendations and voice-assisted queries, there's little else we know what Gemini might be capable of on Google TV devices.

Google's gearing up for even broader changes and updates to the TV interface beyond these initial offerings: A major change coming down the pipeline is wider HDMI-CEC improvements, as well as Google TV support on Android XR devices.

It's unclear when to expect Android TV 16, but it's a huge step forward for some of the best OLED TVs out of Sony and budget models from Hisense and TCL. Plus, the Google TV Streamer will soon be looking like an even bolder device against major competitors like Amazon and Roku.

Once we know more about its release date, you'll be the first to hear about it.

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Ryan Epps is a Staff Writer under the TV/AV section at Tom's Guide focusing on TVs and projectors. When not researching PHOLEDs and writing about the next major innovation in the projector space, he's consuming random anime from the 90's, playing Dark Souls 3 again, or reading yet another Haruki Murakami novel.

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