TCL’s Google TVs were recently pulled from Best Buy following some software issues, but it looks like they’re back on the shelves just in time for the holidays.
Apparently, users were complaining about sluggish software and app crashes, prompting the company to remove its televisions from Best Buy shelves in order to address the issue. A TCL spokesperson confirmed the move with Android Central:
TCL is committed to delivering premium products with world-class experiences, and the new product featuring Google TV is certainly no different. Recent software updates have allowed us to make significant improvements on the stability and speed of the TCL televisions featuring Google TV.
With these updates, this product now represents the powerful performance that TCL and Google believe is the future of TV.
Additionally, current owners of TCL’s Google TV sets should expect an automatic update to put their televisions on par with the latest software.
While TCL makes some of the best Android TV sets on the market, it’s one of the few television makers to ship TVs with Google TV built-in. They’re often cheaper than the more premium Sony models, so halting sales just before the holidays was likely not ideal.
Speaking of holidays, TCL has also introduced new, cheaper Google TV models as pointed out by 9to5Google. While the software was previously reserved for the 5 and 6-Series televisions, the cheaper 4-Series models make purchasing a new Google TV set much more affordable.
Starting at just $350, users can expect 4K UHD resolution in sizes ranging from 43-inches to 85-inches and integration with smart assistants like Alexa and, of course, Google Assistant.
Of course, there are a few compromises, such as the lack of HDMI 2.1, variable refresh rate, and more premium display technology. However, for someone looking for a last-minute and fairly inexpensive gift, the new 4-Series Google TVs may be worth a look, especially with a nice $70 discount Best Buy appears to be offering.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
Stadia will now work on these Android TV devices
Google enables more Android TV hardware to stream video games from the cloud to your television through Stadia. Here is every Android TV device that will officially support it.
