Samsung’s Gear VR headsets allow owners of Samsung phones to be thrust into a virtual reality world. With a recent update, they will be able to share these worlds with those around them thanks to support for Google Cast. This feature is similar to the cast feature being added for Google’s Daydream headsets, announced recently. […]
Author: Nick Felker
Nick Felker is a student Electrical & Computer Engineering student at Rowan University (C/O 2017) and the student IEEE webmaster. When he's not studying, he is a software developer for the web and Android (Felker Tech). He has several open source projects on GitHub Devices: Moto G-2013 Moto G-2015, Moto 360, Google ADT-1, Nexus 7-2013 (x2), Lenovo Laptop, Custom Desktop. Although he was an intern at Google, the content of this blog is entirely independent and his own thoughts.
Cordcutting Fortnightly provides readers with a collection of news in cordcutting that has occurred over the past two weeks. View last fortnight’s news. Google Home Adds New Video & Audio Partners As we reported earlier, users will soon be able to use their voice and the Google Assistant to queue and play videos on their TV […]
Casting is a handy way for apps to quickly extend their content for the TV without the need for a native app. One of the new apps with Chromecast support is Cartoon Network, the app with a variety of on-demand shows. By logging in with your cable provider, you can access even more episodes and a […]
New Games on Android TV – Week of May 28
There’s a lot of games being launched on Android TV, and we may not have time to cover them individually. These weekly posts give brief summaries of many new games that are being published that have TV support in the Play Store. If you know of a new game, or find one we missed, let […]
At Google I/O, there was mention of YouTube Kids and YouTube 360-degree videos, although another new feature seemed not to get mentioned for Android TV users: a full redesign of the YouTube app. The design was teased first in the general keynote during the 360-degree video demo for the living room. The presenter speaks into a […]
Android TV Stats – 3K Apps, 1M Activations Every Two Months
At Google I/O, David Burke took the stage during the keynote to reveal some tangible statistics about the growth and success of the platform. Android TV, a platform where hardware manufacturers can make devices and software developers can build applications for end users, needs a healthy ecosystem of both in order to provide the most […]
I/O 17 Tidbit – Daydream VR Will Get Casting Feature
Virtual Reality, VR, can often be an isolating experience. You put on your headset and are then translated to another world, unable to perceive the real world and people around you. While some VR apps have social built-in, it can often be difficult for families to play VR together. Google’s own VR platform, Daydream, has […]
I/O 17 Tidbit – Graphic Drivers Will Be Updatable Through Play Store
With the release of Android Nougat, there was a lot of focus around the graphics environment. There was a lot of effort to support a vastly different graphics library called Vulkan, which promises console-quality graphics on mobile devices by taking advantage of modern hardware. Graphic drivers are getting another set of improvements with Android O. […]
Ikea’s Smart Home Hub will add Google Assistant Support
Ikea has been making furniture for a long time, since it was founded in 1943 in Sweden. Since then, its modern design and inexpensive prices has allowed it to become the largest furniture retailer in the world. However, they have not just been making chairs and tables. The company has also been focusing on other […]
NeoDash Combines Muzei and DashClock into a Neat Display
Android TV allows third-party apps to target the largest screens in your house. TVs are huge displays that are shared by the whole family, making them great for not just media consumption (watching videos) but also displaying any passive information you want. Passive displays have fascinated me for a while, since the rise of smart […]
PSA: Android O Beta Blocks Sideloading on Android TV
Android O is focusing on a wide variety of issues to make the user experience better and more secure. One feature, uncovered by Android Police, blocks apps installing APKs until the user explicitly approves that application. Users still need to allow installing apps from unknown sources, but it would then give more control over which […]
Red Bull TV Wins Best TV App at Google Play Awards
The Google Play Awards, held during Google I/O, is a chance to highlight the third-party developers who are advancing the Android platform with great apps. The awards were given out last night in a variety of categories, including Android TV. Google has a blog post for all of the apps, but of note in our […]
Questions we have about the New Tv Launcher
Google showed off its major redesign for Android TV last night. While we have a good idea of how new apps can integrate these features, there are still many questions we still have about this new experience. With the Android O beta, which we took a look at yesterday, we know a few answers, and […]
Last night at Google I/O a session was hosted about Android TV. Along with this new UI there was documentation posted about the new way apps can interface with it, using the TvProvider APIs. This gives a lot of information about how this experience will work, as well as raising a few questions about how […]
Analysis of “What’s New in Android TV”
Last night was the big session for Android TV, where they went into detail about Android TV’s new interface. The entire video session is below, but we’ll be highlighting some key new features. As detailed as the session is, there are still several questions we still have. Everything is Organized into “Channels” and “Programs” As […]