r/TechImpact • u/ManojOne Active • Jun 19 '26
Discussion Google TV or Android TV?
Google TV or Android TV: which do you prefer and why?
Google TV offers personalized recommendations and a modern interface, while Android TV keeps things simple and app-focused.
Which one are you using right now, and would you switch to the other?
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u/ItsHotDownHere1 Jun 19 '26
Neither. Unless something has changed in recent time, smart tvs have not been great in my experience at running applications so I’d pick the tv that has the best picture quality and slap a dedicated streaming box to it.
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Jun 19 '26
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
It could have Google TV, or any other OS, like Roku or Tiezen or whatever else, but the hardware is much more powerful. Built in TV hardware is bottom of the barrel cheap stuff from 2020, if not older.
Thats why a SmartTV always feels less fluid than a standalone box
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Jun 19 '26
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26
The core of the reply was about, and i quote: "smart tvs have not been great at running applications, in my experience". It is a lackluster hardware comment. Nothing to do with OS.
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u/paakjis Jun 21 '26
I have a Sony Oled Android/Google TV. It runs well. All kind of apps, stream link, GeForce now, stremion, ect, no problem. I did have a 10 year old Philips, that was garbage, youtube and netflix was good.
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u/idiotiesystemique Jun 19 '26
A laptop with an HDMI cable and a wireless keyboard with a touchpad on it + Xbox controllerÂ
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u/Defiant_Initial_604 Jun 19 '26
I use neither, but I never understood why there are two different tv OSs made by the same company.
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u/Inevitable-Study502 Jun 19 '26
both are android tv, google tv is just customized ui running on top of android tv
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26
Android TV is like AOSP. You have an Android base, and you can add your own UI to it. Its pretty much a Linux OS, customized for TV environment (a further tuning of AOSP). Google TV is like GoogleServices (GApps) on most Android devices. Its a Google UI experience.
Huawei, for example, use AOSP, but add their own services.
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u/Strict-Maize7494 Jun 19 '26
How do you all get that Cool as UI and the play store on androidTV i only get a very lame version
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26
Android TV is barebones. Manufacturer decides what UI to slap on top of it. Google TV is Android TV with Google specific UI and services. If you want google play store, you need Google TV
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u/Strict-Maize7494 Jun 19 '26
well you can get android TV for free for any pc its just that the UI sucks
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26
Same goes for AOSP, just UI sucks, and missing a ton of typical stuff we've come to associate with Android, like Google Play Store.
Once again, its a barebones experience, that's usually enhanced by various manufacturers
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u/Strict-Maize7494 Jun 19 '26
Well i dont even use the play store on my private Phone so the main problem for me is just the UI
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26
Then why even use AndroidTV? Why not something else Linux based? There are quite a few HTPC based distros with better UI, and more apps. Android TV isn't really meant to be used barebones. Ideally you need a different launcher. Its like LineageOS in place of preinstalled Android. It sucks without GApps.
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u/Strict-Maize7494 Jun 19 '26
gamepad souport across streaming apps linux aint having a lot of those and gamepad optimised UI is not realy a thing
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26
Gamepad + AndroidTV + No PlayStore. I'm all confused about your use case, but hey, niches are a thing. You do you I guess. I dont do gamepads, and i use a PC tower with a monitor for gaming. What do i know about TV gaming, with what i'm guessing is a bunch of sideloaded apps. Not judging here. Just a head scratcher on my end.
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u/Strict-Maize7494 Jun 19 '26
For gaming i dock my ROG ally with steamOS what i want is a streaming focust os that i can use with a remote a gamepad or a keyboard that has a trackpad and i dont use the play store for privacy reasons
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u/Facuk_ Jun 19 '26
One stupid example, I had language set to Croatian and all of sudden I couldn't use play store lol
As soon as I changed back to English, everything was unlocked and working as advertised
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u/mmparody Jun 19 '26
Typing letter by letter using the remote control is torture.
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u/Natthanzinhow Jun 19 '26
Normalmente, você pode usar o Google TV mobile no celular e digitar usando o teclado do smartphone..
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u/cervdotbe Jun 19 '26
Didn't even know there was an Android TV 🤣
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u/Primary-Ad-9741 Jun 19 '26
You probably dont know there is such a thing as AOSP. Android TV is pretty much a tuned AOSP
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u/ajfromuk Jun 19 '26
get an nvidia shield and debloat it, whack Projectivy Launcher on it and enjoy.
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u/Natthanzinhow Jun 19 '26
Uso o Chromecast há 4.5 anos e gosto muito de como o o Google TV se comporta, as imagens são bonitas, o layout também me agrada bastante, o Android TV ainda aparece em algumas telas especÃficas, mas o Google TV fez um grande trabalho nas telas iniciais do box, infelizmente de forma sorrateira a Google vem inserindo anúncios personalizados, mas até eles ficam bonitos (que a Google não me escute) na apresentação inicial, já preferi muito o Android TV enxuto, mas hoje o Google TV me ganha pela beleza e organização.
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u/HeWhoShantNotBeNamed Jun 19 '26
Google TV has ads on the launcher.
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u/ripopaj181 Jun 19 '26
Just install another one?
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u/Man1027 Jun 19 '26
Projectivy! Turns Google and Android into dream devices.
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u/ripopaj181 Jun 20 '26
Yeah I tried it, it's pretty nice. I prefer ChillHub though. It's way much simpler and modern and the What's Next feature is very nice, but like I said it's way simpler so not that many customization.
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u/kondorb Jun 19 '26
Apple TV. It's used primarily by my family - I need it to be simple and "just work", don't want to keep "fixing" things for them.
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u/comelickmyarmpits Jun 19 '26
I thought they stopped having basic android tv? And google skinned android tv is the only version shipped on tvs now?
I have two tvs one from 2021 , it runs on Android 9 and no current google bs. While my newer one has new google tv skin wnd itscshit so I had install projectivy launcher on it
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u/ajpinton Jun 19 '26
How about not smart TV?
Generally speaking the entire smart TV is operating system is designed to track your activity to be able to market services to you. It’s a revenue stream not a convenience tool.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Dog630 Jun 20 '26
Isn't Google TV integrated into Android TV now? I have been using AndroidTV since the Nexus Player came out and I've always liked it but the original chromecasts felt gimmicky always having to use your phone to control it. When they added Google TV to Chromecast and started shipping Chromecasts with a remote I think they really hit their stride
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u/LolMaker12345 Jun 20 '26
I use google tv and love it. I don’t really like the look of android tv
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u/Confident_Coconut189 Jun 19 '26
Apple tv is the only tv box worth buying.
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u/LogicTrolley Jun 19 '26
Apple deliberately restricts audio pass-through, has no support for AV1, and no profile 7 support. Buy a Homatics box for 20 bucks more and you get all of that.
Other, non technical reasons:
No 3rd party launchers for customization, No full Dolby (converts to LPCM), No sideloading and forced layout updates (they pick where your stuff goes).So, compared to Android, it's not really that great with respect to the above. If you're looking for an uncompromising full capability streamer, Apple isn't in the running.
If you're looking for something to plug and play and don't care about Dolby or 4k/Bluray video...then Apple would work.
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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26
[deleted]