Key Takeaways
- Google is enjoyable RAM necessities for Android TV gadgets, doubtlessly resulting in extra reasonably priced choices.
- HD Android TV gadgets now solely want 1GB of RAM (down from 1.5GB), whereas 4K gadgets want 1.5GB of RAM (down from 2GB).
- Decrease reminiscence necessities might pave the way in which for cheaper Android TV gadgets, notably in rising markets.
The Android working system for good TVs is not essentially reminiscence hungry, particularly since TVs are usually not multitasking gadgets and infrequently run just one app at a time. Google’s newest Google TV Streamer is an outlier amongst most main streaming gadgets, that includes 4GB of RAM, which is double what the tech big provides with the 4K Google TV Chromecast and marks a 166 p.c improve over the HD Chromecast with Google TV’s 1.5GB reminiscence.
For reference, not one of the Roku streaming gadgets function greater than 2GB of RAM, and the identical goes for Amazon’s Fireplace TV sticks, with solely Apple’s 2022-released Third-gen Apple TV 4K matching the Google TV Streamer with 4GB of RAM.
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New TVs and streaming gadgets now launch virtually solely with Google TV, leaving the tech big’s older Android TV within the mud, despite the fact that a few of Google TV’s new options have been ported again to Android TV. Google TV is not a brand new working system, it’s primarily a software program layer that runs on high of Android TV. As of at present, solely the Google TV Streamer runs on Android TV 14, in addition to some TVs, whereas all different Android TV and Google TV gadgets are primarily based on Android 12 (sure, Google skipped Android 13).
Nevertheless, for brand spanking new TVs and streaming gadgets slated to launch with Android TV 14, Google appears to be adjusting its {hardware} necessities. Based on an Android Authority report by Mishaal Rahman, for HD TVs to be licensed to run Android TV, they needed to have not less than 1.5GB of RAM, whereas the identical minimal requirement was 2GB for 4K fashions. Now, these necessities have reportedly been lowered to 1GB and 1.5GB, respectively, prompting that Google may be taking a look at making the OS accessible on lower-priced gadgets.
This may immediate OEMs to launch extra reasonably priced Android TV gadgets
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Rahman indicated that the data comes by way of an unnamed trusted supply, who additionally instructed that TVs hitting the minimal RAM requirement would wish to declare themselves as “low reminiscence gadgets” to learn from Android TV’s low RAM optimizations, with Google reportedly engaged on additional optimizing Android TV for low RAM gadgets.
For TVs and streaming gadgets launching with Google TV on high of Android TV, then again, Google is reportedly sustaining a better 2GB minimal, as confirmed in code adjustments within the Android Open Supply Venture (AOSP) Gerrit. The change reiterates the decrease RAM requirement for Android TV gadgets, contemplating that it lowers the minimal RAM allocation for Android TV emulator builds in Android Studio. Google TV builds, nonetheless, retain their 2GB minimal RAM requirement, prompting an Android TV push for reasonably priced HD dongles or TVs concentrating on rising markets, with Google TV being the extra premium expertise of the 2.
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