After languishing on an ancient customized version of Android for quite some time, Google TV is finally set to get a long-awaited upgrade with a new version of the operating system.
When Google TV first rolled out to the masses it ran atop Android 3.2 Honeycomb. Fortunately, Mountain View has confirmed tGoogle TV platform will be upraded to Android 4.2.2 by end of year.
An exact timeframe for the roll out remains unknown, but we do know it is likely to go live at some point over the next few months.
“Google TV is moving to the latest version of Android (Jelly Bean, 4.2.2), and we’ve refactored Google TV so that our TV OEM partners can update to future versions of Android in a matter of weeks rather than months,” a company rep wrote in an official blog post.
“For developers, this means you can build TV experiences using the latest Android APIs, including the NDK.”
Along with the update to a newer version of the Android operating system, Google TV will also get the latest version of Chrome for surfing the web.
“Today Google TV is also moving to the latest version of Chrome, and from now on Google TV benefits from Chrome updates on the same six week cycle that you’ve come to expect from Chrome,” the rep continued. “In Chrome on Google TV, we’ve added support for hardware-based content protection, enabling developers to provide premium TV content in HD within their web apps.”
Google also noted that some of its major hardware partners have been working with the new version of Android since February. One major caveat about the operating system update? It will only be available for ARM-based Google TV devices. That means first generation device that powered by Intel hardware won’t get the update. Google TV already has access to Google Play movies and music, so here’s to hoping the update brings access to some cool games as well.
