Google Has A New Plan To Assault The TV Industry With Something Called 'Android TV'
Major app providers are said to be building apps for the set-top box, which will be called Android TV according to The Verge's Sean Hollister.
The interface will likely be much different from that of Google TV-the company's ill-fated attempt at bringing a smartphone-like experience to your TV.
Android TV, rather, will run on "an entertainment interface, not a computing platform," according to internal Google documents reportedly obtained by The Verge.
This means that Android TV will probably seem a lot similar to streaming devices currently available on the market, such as Amazon's Fire TV and the Roku. Google envisions a simplistic interface with basic TV apps for Android TV, the report says. The user interface is said to consist of a series of scrolling cards that represent different movies and TV shows.
Android TV will reportedly support voice and input notifications, but the device's recommendation engine seems to be the feature that could make it stand out. The Verge reports that Google wants to proactively recommend movies and TV shows to its users rather than having them browse through content to watch. This includes picking up from wherever one left off when viewing content on a tablet or smartphone.
"Access to content should be simple and magical," Google writes in the document.
Although Google may release a set-top streaming box soon, it will continue to sell its $35 Chromecast dongle as well, according to the report. There's no mention of when Google plans to introduce Android TV or how much it will cost, but Google will have to make a strong effort to stand out against other compelling streaming media options.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.