Android TV Leaks
You use a remote control with a four-way directional pad to scroll left and right through different suggestions, or up and down through different categories of content, each with their own shelves. Much like on other set top boxes, each item will be like a miniature movie poster or book cover, and you’ll pick the one you want. The controller will also have Enter, Home, and Back buttons to help get around, and there will be “optional” game controllers.
Android TV will also support voice input and notifications — though Google is encouraging developers to only use notifications in very limited cases. In total, Android TV is remarkably similar to Amazon’s just-released, Android-based Fire TV.
It looks exactly like Fire TV. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon raced to market with a nearly-identical feature set after learning about Google’s plans.
Of course, due to their similarity, Android TV is set to disappoint me as much as Fire TV did when it finally gets unveiled. New products and platforms may be launching — but TV innovation is as stagnant as ever.