LAS VEGAS – Google’s Android operating system dominates the smartphone market with an 84% share, but as the smartphone market’s blistering growth rates cool down, Google is looking for new ways to extend Android’s dominance. Wearable devices and the “Internet of Things” may be the new markets that get the most publicity, but Google is also working hard to crack two more-established markets: TV sets and vehicles.
Android TV
This week at CES, Sony said that all its new smart TVs will support Android TV. Google said that Sharp and Philips TVs running Android TV will also hit the stores this spring. Viewers will be able to use a single remote to watch live TV as well as content from Google Play or other Google apps.
Android TV-enabled sets will of course be ready to stream content from Android mobile devices, and many of them will feature 4K video. Google says it is ready to “reimagine the living room” and it has the support of all the leading TV chip-makers: ARM, Broadcom, Imagination Technologies, Intel, Marvell, MediaTek, MStar, Nvidia, Qualcomm and STMicroelectronics.
Android TV is Google’s second attempt to infiltrate the world of television. The platform supplants Google TV, which the company once said would be embedded in most television sets on the market. Now Google is withdrawing support for Google TV app developers, and encouraging them to transition to Android TV.
Android on the road
Last month Reuters reported that an upcoming version of Android will be designed to operate in vehicles, bypassing mobile devices. Right now Google offers Android Auto, which will connect smartphones to cars that have compatible screens once those cars hit the market.
The connected car is shaping up as a major battleground between over-the-top players like Google and the service providers who provide the connectivity. AT&T has emerged as a frontrunner in the race to make deals with automakers. So far the carrier has made alliances with GM, Tesla, Volvo, Subaru and Audi. Meanwhile Google has deals with GM, Nissan and Hyundai.
