All The New Features Google TV Unveiled At CES 2024

Google's presence at CES loomed rather large this year as the annual tech expo and conference has seemingly rebounded from the lean years it suffered during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with some very welcome Android improvements, Google chose 2024's show to focus heavily on Google TV — the Android-driven streaming service that brings thousands of apps to your home theater. According to revelations made during CES, there are a range of improvements coming to the biggest screen in your home, which represent some serious upgrades to ease-of-use and functionality.

Google appears focused on solving the most common points of friction users encounter in common use-case scenarios, from connecting Bluetooth devices to casting content from popular phone apps. Additionally, partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and improved smart home integration should make the Google TV experience more seamless than ever before. Here are all the new features coming soon to Google TV.

Many Google TV devices, including Google's own Chromecast with Google TV, have long supported Bluetooth for those who want to enjoy the big screen without disturbing others around them with audio. However, until now, it's been a clunky process. Pairing a set of headphones meant opening Chromecast settings and going through multiple submenus before you could binge Netflix without waking the kids. Today, Google streamlined the process by announcing that it's adding Fast Pair to Chromecast with Google TV, with more devices being eligible for Fast Pair in the near future.

You're probably familiar with Fast Pair, even if not by name. When you turn on some Bluetooth earbuds and get a pop-up notification to pair them to your phone through a single tap, that's Fast Pair. The addition of this convenient feature to Google TV means you'll be able to pop in your wireless earbuds and see a prompt on your TV for quick connectivity. It's a small change that may vastly improve the Google TV user experience for some.

Another of Google's CES announcements included a surprising focus on TikTok, which can now be broadcast to any Chromecast enabled device, including Google TV devices. There was previously a TikTok app that could be installed on Google TV from the Play Store, but now, you can simply cast your For You feed directly to the screen. It's hard to know how many people are clamoring for the ability to watch vertical videos designed to be viewed on a smartphone on their horizontally oriented TVs, but if you're one of them, Google has you covered.

Generally, more compatibility between platforms is a net positive. Casting a TikTok video to the big screen sure beats making your friends huddle around you to watch it on your phone, and if you're trying to learn the latest dance trends, that might be easier to do from your TV as well. Google also promises to extend TikTok casting to live video streams, though that will be coming at a later date. Those who want to watch TikTok Live on their TVs may already be able to do so by mirroring their phone screen, though of course that means losing the ability to do other things on the phone during that viewing process.

One interesting addition to the Google TV and Chromecast ecosystem announced at CES is a partnership between Google and LG. The electronics manufacturer will be launching more screens with Chromecast built-in. That extends to LG's range of hospitality-focused TVs — the ones you're likely to find in hotel rooms — meaning travelers can easily cast content from their phones, tablets, or laptops without needing to fiddle with the TV's onboard apps. And homebodies won't be left out, as LG's expected consumer TVs for 2024 will have Chromecast capabilities as well (no word on if that applies to LG's absurdly delightful transparent OLED TV).

Chromecast, first launched in 2013, has grown into something akin to a universal standard, supported by a wide range of apps and devices from Spotify to Netflix and integrating nicely into smart home ecosystems. Bringing that experience to more devices, especially hotel TVs, will go a long way to making Chromecast the most convenient option for consuming content on larger screens. Google was sure to point out the success it has already enjoyed with Chromecast, highlighting the range of Google TV devices on the market and flexing the existing 220 million monthly active Google TV and Android TVs.

Over the past decade, the smart home has been one of tech's biggest battlegrounds. Different standards were competing for dominance, leading to a fractured marketplace that often made smart living more frustrating than futuristic. In 2022, the open-source Matter standard was launched by the Connectivity Standards Alliance. Aiming to unite smart home tech under a single banner, its goal was to end the era of needing a separate app for your coffee maker and light bulbs. The biggest players in smart tech came aboard to make Matter viable, and Google is among its biggest champions. That's why it came as no surprise that, at CES 2024, Google promised increased Matter functionality for Google TV.

According to Google, "select Google TV and other Android TV OS devices," along with LG TVs, will now be able to act as smart home hubs for Matter. That means these devices will act as relay points for Matter-connected smart homes, making it much easier to coordinate various lights, thermostats, speakers, laundry machines, and kitchen appliances, or even the various DIY smart home enhancements some users undertake.