Android TV 13 has already been released for developers and testers
After four months of the publication of the release of the new version of Android 13, Google announced the launch of the new edition of its "Android" system targeted for smart TVs and set-top boxes, "Android TV 13".
With this new announcement from Google of its Android TV 13 operating system, Android TV and Google TV Smart Streaming dongles and televisions will receive an update to version 13.
It is worth mentioning that aesthetically Android TV 13 is not changing much as a result of this upcoming update, since it is mainly a backend update and most of the changes are not user-oriented. Still, we have a few changes that should improve the overall experience.
Main news of Android TV 13
For starters, this new release will allow you to change the default refresh rate and resolution on compatible HDMI source devices, such as streaming devices, to optimize your playback experience. We also have a handful of new APIs and improvements to others, which should make your playback experience even smoother than ever.
This new version now it can be installed on the android tv emulator, as well as Google's first ADT-3 streaming device kit.
In addition to this, in this new release we can find that added support for different keyboard layouts to the InputDevice API and the ability to bind to the physical layout of the keys to process keystrokes independent of the active layout. You can now use layouts for different languages on external keyboards.
La AudioManager API has been extended with the ability to proactively determine the attributes of the active audio device and use them to select the optimal format without proceeding to playback. For example, an application can now determine the device through which sound will be transmitted and the formats it supports at a stage prior to creating the AudioTrack object.
A framework for interfacing with TV Tuner HAL 2.0 tuners is proposed, in which performance optimizations are implemented, work with dual tuners is provided, and support for the ISDB-T Multi-Layer specification is added.
The MediaSession API provides HDMI state change handling, which can be used to save power consumption of TV Dongles and other HDMI transmitters, and to pause content in response to a state change, such as when they detect that the User has changed the input source and you are no longer seeing that HDMI.
Another novelty that this new version of Android TV 13 presents is that an API has been added to the AccessibilityManager to organize the broadcast of audio descriptions to users with disabilities, according to their preferences. Added system-wide settings to enable audio descriptions in apps.
Of the other changes that stand out from this new version:
- Work has been done to improve power management during Low Power Standby mode.
- The privacy settings reflect the state of the hardware mute switches that are reflected in the privacy controls on the system.
- Updated the control interface for the microphone access wizard on the remote.
- Improved language selection for HDMI streaming devices.
- A framework for use in the field of interactive television has been added, designed as an extension of TIF (Android TV Input Framework).
finally if you are interested in knowing more about it you can check the details in the following linkand. Whereas to find out about availability on your TV, you should watch for an announcement coming from your TV manufacturer.
The platform is currently offered for testing by application developers only: ready-to-use builds are prepared for the Google ADT-3 decoder and the Android Emulator for TV emulator.
Firmware updates for consumer devices like Google Chromecast are expected to be released in 2023.