Google TV setup will show you this menu in the future. Here, the Google TV option enables apps, the Google Assistant, and recommendations.
Basic TV mode will turn off all but the essentials.
This is what the Google TV interface normally looks like.
GoogleAnd here’s basic mode. Other than the banner at the bottom, it’s a lot simpler.
The new Google TV is a fine smart TV interface, but when it gets integrated into some TV sets later this year, its best feature might be that you can turn it off. A report from 9to5Google details an upcoming “Basic TV” mode that will be built into Google TV, which turns off just about all the smart TV features. Right now, Google TV is only available in the new Chromecast, but Google TV will be built into upcoming TVs from Sony and TCL. Basic mode means we’ll get smart TVs with a “dumb TV” mode.
The rise of smart TVs has led to the extinction of dumb TVs—today, basically every TV has some kind of computer and operating system built into it. If you’re actually expecting to live with a TV for several years, the problem with smart TVs is that the dirt-cheap computers inside these TVs don’t last as long as the display does. When your smart TV is a few years old, you might still have a perfectly good display panel, but you’ll be forced to interact with it through a slow, old, possibly abandoned integrated computer. Companies
should sell dumb TVs without any of this crap permanently integrated into them, but if they refuse, letting consumers turn off the software is the next best thing.
When the new feature rolls out, you’ll be asked to choose between “Basic TV” or “Google TV” at setup. 9to5Google says that with basic mode, “almost everything is stripped, leaving users with just HDMI inputs and Live TV if they have an antenna plugged directly into the TV. Casting support, too, is dropped.” The UI notes that you’ll be turning off all apps, the Google Assistant, and personalized recommendations.
9to5 found this feature via the ADT-3 development set-top box and the Android 12 developer preview, so it’s not entirely clear how it will work when it’s running on a real TV. It seems like basic mode will only show a minimal set of icons for things like input-switching and settings. There’s also a big banner advertising Google TV mode, which you’ll presumably just have to learn to ignore. A Google spokesperson told the site that this feature is destined to hit TVs sold with integrated Google TV in the future.
If you’re wondering what the difference is between “Android TV” and “Google TV,” Google TV is kind of like the next version of Android TV. Google TV is just the Android TV codebase with a new interface, which offers things like a unified search. The upgrade path for existing Android TV devices is Google TV, assuming your device manufacturer is actually shipping updates. By 2022, Google says TV manufacturers won’t be allowed to ship Android TV and will instead ship Google TV. There are some product lines that Google just loves to rebrand every few years, and Android TV/Google TV is one of them.
Google TV will be in Sony’s entire Bravia XR 2021 lineup and select TCL TVs later this year.
