Android TV 14 is here: Features, release date, rollout plans, and more!

Android TV 14 is the latest version of Google’s big-screen, entertainment-orientated OS, but how is it different from its predecessors? Let’s discuss everything we know about the update, including its features and more.

Android TV 14 release date: Is it available yet?

Android 14 was officially released in October 2023, but Android TV 14 wasn’t formally announced until mid-May 2024. Android TV 14 has since been rolled out as an update for the Chromecast with Google TV, but the new OS was made available from the get-go on the Google TV Streamer. Depending on your Android TV device, you may or may not have received the update.

Android TV 14 features

Android TV 14 might not be a massive update, but it’s probably one of the more significant changes to the OS that will roll out in a long time. The updated platform introduces plenty of performance tweaks to make the OS more responsive on devices with lower amounts of RAM, a new picture-in-picture mode, the usual bug fixes you’d expect, and a few small accessibility changes. There’s a color correction option, enhanced text options, and improved accessibility navigation. There are also new energy modes: Low Energy Mode, Optimized Energy Mode, and Increased Energy Mode.

Here are a few other features that are new with Android TV 14:

Android TV 14 now supports a remappable button

The “magic button” is a shortcut you can customize to whatever app or service you wish. It’s a handy way to save your favorite streaming service for quick access. The feature first arrived on the Onn 4K Pro, though the Google TV Streamer also includes a remappable shortcut button.

Android TV gets call and doorbell notifications

Call Notifications is now a feature available for Android 14 with Google TV devices. Simply put, you’ll be able to receive call notifications right from your TV as long as you have a compatible device. The Google TV Streamer also supports doorbell notifications, provided you own a Nest Doorbell.

Android TV 14 gains new accessibility features

While we already mentioned this briefly above, that’s not the full list of accessibility changes. There are a number of new accessibility features available on Android TV 14. Google is adding a new shortcut for text scaling, a bold text setting that makes it easier to read, and a new color-correct setting for those with color blindness. There’s also a new feature called Audio Descriptions, which will read what’s happening on the screen but only for supported movies and shows.

Lastly, the accessibility menu is much more prominent now. You’ll find it as a top-level sub-menu in the Settings instead of buried deep in the System sub-menu.

Android TV 14 includes a few small performance upgrades

Android TV 14 introduces some small performance tweaks, such as the ability to covert HDR formats or keep the standard dynamic range. Don’t want to specify how it handles this? The System Preferred setting will pick the right choice for you.

While not directly related to performance, there are even new energy efficiency settings: Low, Moderate, High, and Unrestricted. Using low turns off the network connection when you’re not using the TV. Moderate leaves on just enough features to wake your TV via Wi-Fi. Of course, high leaves on almost everything. As you might guess, unrestricted keeps all network features running constantly. Keep in mind these new features will only work with supported hardware. Maybe we will see it on the rumored new Chromecast with Google TV? Hard to say, but it would make sense for Google to showcase this feature on its own hardware.

Android TV 14 rollout and compatibility

For now, we can’t say with any certainty what Android TV 14 compatibility will be like. After all, Android TV 13 never arrived on a single device outside of the ADT developer hardware.

We’ve seen Google’s own newer streaming hardware gain the update, in addition to the Onn 4K Pro. However. just don’t expect it to roll out to every Android TV box or TV set, even newer models. Typically, Android TV devices focus more on security patches and fixes over full OS software updates. After all, there’s only so much to add to the platform, and as you can see in the Android TV 14 features list above, the updates tend to be fairly minor.