By will-buy
Google TV will someday function as the center of the integrated smart home ecosystem, based on director of product management Rob Caruso. He shared his vision inside a Protocol newsletter of the smart TV aggregating and connecting apps from partners like Zoom and Netflix, in addition to Google's extensive family of brands like Fitbit. The idea to create smart TVs a lot more like a sizable smart display with no limits implied by its name is rapidly being a standard strategy, but Google might need to play catch up in some regards.
Google TV Funnel
Caruso said Google TV has become ubiquitous, with many of the most popular smart TV makers using the platform. Google claims Ten million televisions with Google TV's interface are sold every year now. T-Mobile debuted the first Google TV device recently, but Caruso highlighted plans to connect apps and content on the deeper level so users can access their information from the house screen by voice, as with a Google Nest Hub smart display. Google is focusing on more smart home controls and connecting to services Zoom's video calls and Fitbit's workouts, possibly to arrive later this season.
Integrating with content streaming services can also be high in priority list. Viewers could access content on the streaming platforms in the desltop having a deeper connection. That means reaching agreements with those companies to integrate into the platform; not necessarily simple to do. Netflix, arguably the most well-known name in streaming, had such an integration with Google TV if this launched on Chromecast in 2023 but pulled out a few months after for unknown reasons. There is no way to look for content or add it to the watchlist on the homepage anymore like there is on Amazon Fire, Roku, and other smart TV platforms. Caruso, who left Netflix to become listed on Google back in August, sounded optimistic concerning the prospects of doing this but didn't go into details.
“I hope we'll see some welcome improvements and innovations within the coming months with not just Netflix, however with many partners,” Caruso told Protocol. “You can't force anyone's hand, however the hope is the fact that as we provide features for our users [and] partners, that they all see value, and then it is a flywheel.”
TV Homes
Google TV's plans sound nearly the same as what Amazon is doing with the Fire TV platform, including a new voice command for Alexa to “Play Something on Netflix” and get a video playing immediately. That collaboration with Netflix pairs well using the voice focus of the new Amazon-produced Fire TVs. The Omni comes with a far-field microphone for hands-free Alexa access. The new TVs arrived on the scene together with new Alexa-enabled X-ray features that share information on the foot of the screen along with a new conversational feature for Alexa where viewers can ask the voice assistant the things they should watch and discuss what kind of movies and shows that they like. Amazon is ahead with Zoom, too, introducing the app on Amazon Fire TV Omni last month.
Netflix is even pursuing its very own smart TV voice assistant, partnering with SoundHound on including voice AI within the new Da Vinci Reference Design Kit (RDK). Smart TV set-top manufacturers won't have to create their very own voice assistant; instead, they can integrate Netflix's software already augmented with SoundHound's voice AI to enable hands-free search and control of streaming content and connected smart home devices.
