Better late than never, as they say. LG‘s promised update to a number of its Google TV units is now rolling out to owners of GA6400 series, and probably G3 series soon as well, bumping the Android version on those devices to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and saying goodbye to an era of Android 3.2 Honeycomb.
LG promised the Android update back at Google I/O earlier this year but it was only this month that the manufacturer was heard to be ready to push it out, which is a bit understandable considering the big jump in terms of base Android versions, APIs, and functionality. The most jarring change, however, comes from the switch of the Chrome web browser from the PC version to the Android version. This practically removes support for Flash plugins, especially video players.
The fate of Google TV has been up in the air for quite some time now ever since Google launched its Chromecast streaming HDMI dongle. While Google insists that there is room for both pieces of technology, and we quite agree, the silence from other Google TV partners and even from Google itself doesn’t spark much confidence. LG seems to be the only one actively moving forward with its Google TV plans, even going so far as filing trademarks for potential new devices.
Other manufacturers, however, have been quite slow in making such moves, or even in rolling out much needed updates to existing devices. With Google itself reported to be trying to shed off the “Google TV” moniker in favor of a more generic “with Google services” marketing label, the future of Google TV remains shrouded in uncertainty.
VIA: Android Police
