TCL Google TVs just put Roku and Fire TV on notice — here’s why
TCL Google TVs just put Roku and Burn Television on notice — here's why
TCL has but announced some big news this week: A full slate of TCL Google TV models are coming in the next month or so. This includes new Google-powered versions of the highly pop TCL vi-Series and 5-Series smart TVs.
With this beingness just the second major launch of Google Television set-based smart TVs from a bigger name manufacturer — the first was in the Sony 2021 TV lineup before this year — it represents a big step forward for the big-screen operating system. In terms of market share and accessibility, it puts the successor to Android Idiot box onto a lot more affordable displays.
Just there's more to it than that. By partnering with TCL to roll out several new Google TV products, Google is taking aim squarely at some of the well-nigh popular smart TV platforms on some of the well-nigh affordable smart TVs you can buy.
Put just, Google is direct taking on Amazon's Burn down TV and Roku smart TVs, and Google came to win.
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Why TCL TVs thing
The TCL name has been very closely associated with Roku over the last few years. The two companies accept worked closely with one some other to make TCL Roku TVs some of the all-time affordable smart televisions you tin can find. While other Television manufacturers accept offered Roku-powered displays, a quick glance at our picks for the best Roku TVs shows a lineup heavily slanted toward TCL products, and for good reason.
TCL makes really adept hardware, and the company owns its full manufacturing supply chain, from the panel to the finished Tv. That allows for a very high level of quality.
Innovations introduced by TCL, such every bit the combination of QLED and mini-LED backlight equally seen in our TCL 6-Serial Roku Television (R635) review, has had a significant touch on the home theater market, with mini-LED-lit breakthrough-dot TVs since being introduced past both Samsung and LG.
TCL released its kickoff Android TVs final year, but relegated the platform to its less expensive and less advanced 3- and 4-Series models. These Android-powered models are largely identical to their Roku-powered counterparts, simply the TCL Android lineup hasn't been as widely promoted or even as widely available through major retailers. The spotlight has always been Roku.
The result is that TCL has been able to make its inexpensive Roku TVs a major presence in televisions. So why add Google Telly to the mix?
Google Goggle box: Android smart TVs grow up
For starters, Google TV represents the latest evolution of Android TV, which has been the name of Google's smart Tv set interface for the terminal several years. Based on the same Android operating system as many phones and tablets, the Idiot box-oriented version of Android benefits from the rich selection of apps and services in the Android ecosystem, every bit well as a flexibility that lets information technology run on all sorts of hardware.
Besides, Google's smart TV interface is not tied to any ane Idiot box manufacturer, dissimilar LG'southward webOS or Samsung's Tizen platforms. As a result, Android Tv set has been licensable to several TV manufacturers, making information technology one of the merely brand agnostic options bachelor for TV shoppers, aslope Roku.
In many ways the switch to Google Goggle box is a branding motion, since the underlying software is nonetheless Android. The change in branding is accompanied by several new features, including advanced content suggestions that combine Google's many content channels (YouTube, YouTubeTV, Google Play Video, etc) and search chops, linking Tv viewer profiles to Google users and letting you save and share watchlists between telephone and TV, among other things.
The motility to Google TV also offers enhanced smart home compatibility, drawing on Google's deep ties to its ain Nest products and a growing ecosystem of other smart dwelling house devices as those product categories have matured. Both Sony and TCL Google TVs are outfitted with far-field microphones, essentially making the TV a big smart speaker, merely like a Google Home, complete with functions that tie in to smart thermostats, video doorbells and myriad other devices.
The result is a polished version of what was already an splendid smart TV experience. Information technology'south a significant plenty improvement that we gave it the Tom'due south Guide 2021 Award for the best smart TV platform.
TCL's big bet on Google
The add-on of Google TV to TCL'due south higher-quality, but still budget-friendly models in the 5 and half-dozen Series, represents an of import shift for both TCL and Google. As the smart Boob tube category matures, we expect this to result in some of the all-time smart TVs to hitting the market at aggressive prices.
This move also seems like a carefully calculated footstep on TCL's part. TCL's 2020 TV lineup included several of the all-time TVs we saw last yr, just for 2021, TCL opted to carry those same models forward every bit the flagship TVs for the new year's day. That's a bit of a gamble, betting that some of the all-time affordable TVs of last year wouldn't be replaced by models from competitors like Hisense and Vizio. (Both of these competing manufacturers have in fact delivered great TVs this year, then this was non at all a safety bet.) But the bet has so far paid off, as evidenced by the TCL six-Series reigning nonetheless as our favorite value among the best TVs.
It seems likely now that TCL'due south plan all along was to launch these new Google TV-powered versions of those accolade-winning TVs. It finer combines the same tiptop-notch hardware with Google'southward revamped operating system to make a play in that aforementioned high-value category.
What most Roku? Given that TCL likewise just launched the TCL Roku TV 6-Series 8K (R648) in partnership with Roku, I doubt that the TCL/Roku pairing will become away someday before long. But the addition of Google TV is a big step.
For the moment, it looks like TCL's Google TVs will exist a piffling more than expensive at launch than the equivalent Roku models from last yr. The new sets are bachelor for preorder, with the 5-Series starting at $599 and the 6-Series models starting at $999. What I expect, however, is that the pocket-sized price increment for the new Google TV sets will soon vanish as release windows pass and sales starting time knocking downwardly prices to levels closer to what the electric current Roku sets bring in.
What it means: Better TVs, more contest
We'll take to await on individual reviews and hands-on time with the new TVs to make a more than detailed case for TCL's new sets. Simply the fact remains the TCL has simply put Roku and Amazon on discover. Budget TVs are about to get a hotly contested space.
As a reviewer and smart TV enthusiast, I couldn't be more thrilled. The premium smart TV category dominated past LG, Samsung and Sony has long offered the sort of expansive functionality that most people want from a smart TV, simply premium Goggle box prices keep those models out of nigh homes. Yous just aren't likely to pay $2,000 for a loftier-terminate model when all you want is a 4K display that can play Netflix and Disney Plus. Every bit a result, most people don't get the coolest smart Boob tube features, and that'southward a real shame.
If TCL tin exercise for Google TV what it's done with Roku smart TVs — namely, deliver to a higher place average quality at surprisingly reasonable prices — then affordable TVs could be in for major improvements across the board. That includes from these new TCL Google TVs and those from Roku and Amazon as the competition heats up. Information technology could exist the best thing to happen to smart TVs in years.
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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/tcl-google-tvs-just-put-roku-and-fire-tv-on-notice-heres-why
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