Android TV 14 beta has several updates for Google TV and Android TV. These are shortcuts, call notifications and much more. All this should appear in the near future. Google TV has pretty much supplanted its big brother Android TV in high-end TVs. Both Smart TV platforms are getting some updates soon thanks to the latest Android TV 14 beta.
Android TV 14 and Android TV 13 Differences
Android TV 14 won’t be officially released until fall 2023, but the current beta is already providing information on some features. Does it make sense to compare Android TV 14 and Android TV 13 ? It became known that Google has postponed the release of Android TV 13, the appearance of which was announced earlier.
The reason for this was the addition of new features that were not announced in the previous version. In this regard, Google decided not to release the 13th version, but immediately proceed with the release of Android TV 14. Journalist Mishaal Rahman on his Twitter page spoke in detail about the new beta version of Android 14 TV, which was launched along with Android 14 Beta 3 for mobile phones.
Because both Google TV and Android TV devices run on the Android TV OS, these updates should arrive on both platforms. And some of these updates are quite significant. Here’s what will be in the Android TV 14 beta, and what should eventually appear on devices with Google TV or Android TV.
What’s new
The biggest reveal of these new Android TV 14 beta features has to be the addition of shortcuts and call notifications. In Android TV 14, you can now “create a shortcut to your favorite app,” Rahman said. This allows you to match your favorite app with a star on your TV remote.
Shortcut to your favorite app
Everything would be fine if there really was a “star button” on the Google TV remote. However, Rahman believes this is a reference to the star button that existed in early renderings of the Google TV remote control.
It will be interesting to see how this feature will work if it gets to the stable build of Android TV 14. Apparently, this most cherished button will appear on the new remote controls.
Call notifications
If it does happen, it will be a significant update for Google TV and Android TV. Continuing to talk about updates, it should be added that soon it will be possible to receive calls through the Google TV system. A new feature in the beta is Call Notifications, which allows users to “receive calls from supported apps on this device.”
It’s not clear if this means you can fully make a call on a Google TV or Android TV device, or just be notified of an incoming call. To be honest, either of these two innovations is of interest. Call notifications will only appear on the user’s personal profile unless there is a change to the default settings.
Choice of HDR formats
Of course, the Android TV beta brings some performance improvements as well, even if those aren’t the main features. In the advanced display settings under the Display submenu, you can set your device to convert to HDR formats like HDR10, HDR10+ , Dolby Vision and HLG all the time, or leave everything at standard dynamic range.
You can also make the device choose the correct HDR format by choosing System-Preferred instead of Force Conversion. If you select Passthrough instead of either of these two options, then the Google TV or Android TV device will simply match the content format.
Text scaling and color correction
Also in this beta version of Android TV 14, special attention is paid to accessibility. It is now a top-level submenu in the Settings menu instead of hidden in the System submenu. But there are also new special features. The label for scaling the text and setting the bold text should make the text easier to read. There’s also a new color correction setting to help those who are colorblind.
Energy efficiency
The Android TV 14 beta also offers improved power efficiency settings. There are now four energy efficiency modes – low, moderate, high and unlimited. A low level disables the network connection when you are not using the TV.
Moderate leaves only features enabled that wake the TV from sleep via a Wi-Fi or LAN connection. High leaves most online features, while Unlimited keeps all online features at all times.
According to Rahman, devices will not see these new modes unless the device itself supports the feature. It remains unclear which devices will support these new energy efficiency modes. It should also be noted that Google may add new options until Android TV 14 is eventually available.
