Google TV is rolling out a new version of its virtual remote control at the same time it is releasing the Google TV app in 14 new countries, including Canada, confirmed the company to 9to5Google.
A new blog post from the company explains that Google announced 13 new goodies that’ll come to Android starting as early as today that most users take advantage of, including ways to control phones with facial gestures, new ways to control your Google TV-based smart television with your phone, and some features that were previously available exclusively on Google’s Pixel phones.
The new virtual remote control feature is a more refined version of what we first saw in March this year, offering users basic control over their device including navigation controls, home, and back buttons, as well as options for triggering Google Assistant, adjusting the volume, and muting.
“Starting today, you can find something great to watch on your Google TV even when the couch has eaten your remote,” explains Google. “We’ve built remote-control features directly into your Android phone so you can power on your TV, navigate through your recommendations or even start up your favorite show right from your phone. And you can use your phone’s keyboard to quickly type complicated passwords, movie names or search terms. Try it on your Google TV or other Android TV OS devices by adding the remote tile to quick settings on your Android phone, or by visiting the Google TV app.”
Support for a mobile remote should be a tremendous help to those of us constantly losing ours, but it should also streamline processes for things like entering long or complicated passwords, search terms, and titles to films and series. Google said that beyond just Google TV, support would extend to other Android TV OS devices as well.
The remote tool can be accessed two ways: either by adding the remote tile to quick settings from an Android device or through the Google TV app.
Speaking of the Google TV app, the tech giant is rolling the feature out to 14 more countries, including Canada, with the rollout starting “over the next few weeks.”
Check out all the new Android features over at Google’s blog.
