Google TV could get smart home, fitness integration later this year

Google TV is a pretty capable TV and TV box platform, but there’s still room for improvement though. It seems like Google agrees too, and it’s now emerged that the company might bring a few key additions later this year.

Google TV Director of Product Management Rob Caruso told Protocol that it’s investigating smart home and fitness integration with the TV platform.

What would this entail?

Google TV already has smart home controls, but the Google executive said Android’s recent handling of smart home controls could be a blueprint for the TV platform. Android 12 implements quick setting tiles for smart home devices, so this presumably means Google TV will see a similar tweak.

Tighter smart home integration in general would be a great addition to the platform, allowing users to treat their TV or TV box like a smart home hub instead of using their phone. But what does Google have in mind for fitness though?

“Fitness is another big area of exploration,” Caruso was quoted as saying. Protocol adds that Google’s own services and devices (such as Google Fit and Fitbit) and third-party services could be integrated with the TV platform.

What else could Google TV offer down the line?

Caruso also reportedly said that it wanted to offer more video communication on Google TV, pointing to the existing Duo integration while also mentioning Zoom as a potential option in the future. You can sideload Zoom on Google TV, but the app isn’t optimized for TVs and requires a mouse for navigation.

Finally, the executive said Google was “actively” working to increase the number of free live TV channels on the platform. This follows Google TV gaining Pluto TV integration last year.

Caruso added that we could see some of these features arriving on Google TV in the coming months.

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