What Is Google TV? Features, Brands and Trade-Offs

Last updated: October 2026

🕒 6 min read

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What is Google TV, and does it change anything for the person holding the remote? This guide follows RTINGS’ overview of Google TV. It covers the short answer, the brands that use it, the features RTINGS highlights and the trade-offs it names. We don’t pick products here, and the facts below are attributed to RTINGS rather than to testing of our own. If you first want the basics, see our guide on what a smart TV is.

What Is Google TV? The Short Answer

RTINGS describes Google TV as the smart interface and Android TV as the Linux-based operating system it runs on top of, though people often use the two terms interchangeably.

RTINGS, updated December 2025, notes that Google doesn’t make its own TVs. Instead, Google TV appears in many models sold around the world, from brands such as TCL, Hisense and Sony.

RTINGS, updated December 2025, counts six operating systems as making up most of the TV market: Google TV, webOS, Tizen, Fire TV, Roku TV and VIDAA. In RTINGS’ account, Google licenses its system to many brands, while Samsung uses Tizen and LG uses webOS. The same update calls Google TV “one of the most widely used” smart interfaces among TV brands.

How Google TV Compares With Other TV Systems

RTINGS pairs each of those six systems with the brands that use it, “at the time of publication,” and says the list isn’t exhaustive. It also points out that some brands use different platforms in different models and regions, with Hisense as its example. The brand list is therefore tied to when RTINGS published it.

RTINGS says there isn’t a massive difference between these systems: casting from a phone, finding popular apps, playing from a USB stick and voice control are available whichever one a TV runs.

Google TV Features RTINGS Highlights

The features below come from RTINGS, updated December 2025, and are described as RTINGS describes them.

App availability

On apps, RTINGS says new ones usually arrive on Google TV before other smart platforms, and that developers tend to keep their apps going for longer there. It also names apps it says aren’t available on most other operating systems: The Criterion Channel, which it says has been on Google TV since 2019, plus Kodi and Sportsnet in Canada.

Apps from outside the official store

According to RTINGS, Google TV lets users install apps that aren’t in the official store, a practice known as sideloading. Its examples are Kodi forks, Jellyfin test builds and SmartTube. RTINGS sets this against webOS and Tizen, which it describes as more tightly controlled.

Profiles

RTINGS says Google TV supports full, system-level profiles. Each one has its own watch history, recommendations and app data, tied to an individual Google account. By comparison, RTINGS calls webOS profiles more limited and Roku TV essentially a single-user platform. For what Roku is, see our guide on what Roku is.

Google Home and voice control

RTINGS, updated December 2025, described Google TV as integrated with the Google Home ecosystem. It said Google Assistant lets users control smart-home devices connected to Google Home, such as lights, thermostats, cameras and speakers, by voice from the TV.

Games and cloud gaming

RTINGS says Google TV supports games from the Google Play Store, and that many can be played with the TV remote, with a compatible controller as another option. RTINGS also says sideloading emulators and beta builds is possible, and that Google TV supports cloud gaming platforms, including NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming and PlayStation Remote Play. Finally, it mentions Game Master settings, with options such as optional crosshairs.

Extras added by brands

RTINGS, updated December 2025, gave two examples of features that brands add on top of Google TV: the TCL tab from TCL, which it described as offering free ad-supported channels, and gesture control from Sony, which it said works with an optional Bravia webcam.

Basic TV Mode: A Simpler Way to Use Google TV

RTINGS, updated December 2025, said Google TV offers a Basic TV setup option for people who want something simpler. It said this mode covers TV from cable, satellite, a tuner or an antenna through the TV app, media from devices connected to the TV’s other inputs, and a limited set of pre-installed apps.

According to RTINGS, this mode doesn’t allow Google Account sign-in, Play Library access, new app installs, Assistant content search or casting from another device.

Trade-Offs RTINGS Names

RTINGS, updated December 2025, is the source for each trade-off below.

Ads and recommendations

RTINGS calls it a common complaint that the interface is filled with ads and content recommendations. RTINGS says you can opt out of personalized ads, but that general ads and recommendations remain. It adds that this isn’t exclusive to Google TV.

Software versions

RTINGS, updated December 2025, says major platform versions arrive about every two years rather than every year, which it says was the past pattern. It adds that version 12 was the launch version on most Google TV models released in 2024 and 2025.

Software updates

Google doesn’t offer guaranteed firmware updates for TVs, RTINGS says. In its account, updates are typically handled by the TV manufacturer, whereas webOS and Tizen promise several years of system updates. Some Google TV models, RTINGS notes, may see meaningful software improvements stop relatively early in their lifespan.

Speed and polish

RTINGS says Google TV can sometimes feel slower or less intuitive than dedicated streaming devices, naming Apple TV and NVIDIA Shield, and that occasional bugs or quirks may appear. Overall, though, it says Google TV tends to run fairly well, and that other smart operating systems won’t give you a significantly smoother experience.

Which Part Matters for Which Reader?

The points above, from RTINGS, updated December 2025, weigh differently depending on who uses the TV. Here they are sorted by reader situation, using only what RTINGS said.

A TV several people share. See Profiles, where RTINGS compares how far profiles go on Google TV, webOS and Roku TV.
A home with smart devices. See Google Home and voice control, where RTINGS described Google Assistant voice control of devices connected to Google Home.
Someone who plays games. See Games and cloud gaming, plus the sideloading section: RTINGS mentions Play Store games, cloud gaming platforms and, for sideloaders, emulators and beta builds.
Someone who wants fewer features. See Basic TV Mode, where RTINGS lists what the mode covers and what it says you can’t do.
Someone who keeps a TV for years. See Software updates: RTINGS says Google doesn’t guarantee firmware updates. It also says developers tend to maintain apps for longer on Google TV.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Google TV, and is it the same as Android TV?

RTINGS, updated December 2025, described Google TV as the smart interface that runs on top of Android TV, the Linux-based operating system, though people often use the two names interchangeably. The same update called Google TV “one of the most widely used” smart interfaces among TV brands.

Which TV brands use Google TV?

RTINGS, updated December 2025, named brands such as TCL, Hisense and Sony, and said its table of brands isn’t exhaustive. It also noted that some brands, Hisense among them, use different platforms in different models and regions.

Does Google TV guarantee software updates?

RTINGS, updated December 2025, says it doesn’t. Updates are typically handled by the TV manufacturer, according to RTINGS, while webOS and Tizen promise several years of updates. Some Google TV models, it adds, may stop receiving meaningful improvements relatively early in their lifespan.