Google TV exploring fitness, smart home control, and other new features for 2022

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There is a device called a Chromecast that will be used with the tv.

The photo was taken by Chris Welch.

In a new interview with Protocol, the director of product management for the company, Rob Caruso, gave an overview of the company's plans for its TV operating system in 2022. The company is interested in offering fitness and video conferencing services, as well as better smart home controls, though it stopped short of making any specific feature announcements.

The recent smart home control changes that made them easily accessible from a phone's power menu were cited as a clue for what might come to Google TV. He said that a potential addition to the platform would be the video calling service called Duo, which is already available, as well as expanding the amount of free live programming available on the platform.

Both Apple and Amazon have added features to their smart TV devices.

There is a situation with Netflix on the internet. The video streaming service doesn't use some of the advanced features on the platform. Protocol notes that it is not possible to add shows from Netflix to the OS-level watchlist. He hopes that the situation will improve as new features are built into the OS.

Millions of devices around the world are still using the TV operating system from Google, even though it doesn't get as much attention as the mobile OS. There are over 100 million devices that use the Android TV platform, and seven of the top 10 smart TV manufacturers use its software. This includes both the newer and older versions of the TV.

The areas of focus are similar to what Apple and Amazon have to offer. You can use Apple's Fitness Plus service to stream workouts to an Apple TV, and Amazon's TV devices can be used to access the Zoom service. It would be great to see that the TV operating system is comparable to the other services.

No firm release dates for any of these new features were provided, but Caruso said that he hopes some might be introduced later this year.