Google TV Partnering On 'affordable & Reliable' Televisions With Low RAM

Beyond Android 16 for TV, Google at I/O 2025 detailed what’s coming to Google TV. This includes a push for cheaper smart televisions with low RAM that run Google TV.

Google is “partnering with select OEMs to launch affordable and reliable low-RAM panel TVs” to allow “more budget-conscious users to experience quality entertainment.” For reference, the Chromecast with Google TV HD had 1.5 GB of RAM, while the 4K was at 2 GB. The Google TV Streamer doubled that to 4 GB.

More broadly, Google is working to bring Android/Google TV to more form factors. It’s already on TVs, phones, tablets, projectors, and smart monitors. The Google TV is coming next to Android XR headsets: “Users can see, hear, and explore the action from the best seat in the house. They can access their favorite content across their subscriptions, search for content, and get curated recommendations.” Meanwhile, we previously experienced how the Google TV app offers virtual environments to watch content in.

Google also shared that US users spent approximately 200 minutes in apps per day.

Android 16 for TV

Google also shared what’s new for app developers in Android 16 for TV, with the beta already available.

While there are no 64-bit Android TV devices “yet,” Android 16 for TV adds support for 64-bit kernels to “run the emulator natively on a 64-bit host machine.” Google today is just “laying the engineering framework,” and recommends app developers begin preparing apps for 64-bit compatibility. That being said, “it’s important to continue supporting 32-bit platforms for many years to come” given how many will remain in use.

As previously announced with Samsung in January, Android 16 provides platform support for immersive Eclipsa Audio: “It’s designed to revolutionize immersive audio experiences across a wide range of applications, including streaming and gaming in augmented or virtual reality.”

It will be easier for developers and vendors to manage picture profiles thanks to a new standardized MediaQuality API. Example scenarios include:

“For movies and TV series that are mastered with a wider dynamic range, developers might request filmmaker mode to accurately display content as the creator intended for it to look.”
“A cinema profile with greater color accuracy brings out subtle details and shadows in favor of increasing brightness.”
“Conversely, live sporting events, which are often mastered with a narrow dynamic range and watched in daylight, can benefit from a profile that gives preference to brightness over color accuracy.”