As Google prepares to announce its new OS for smart TVs, a few modifications are expected to be introduced to Android TV 13. According to XDA Developers, Android 13 will add a new “low-power standby mode” specifically for Android TVs.
According to the report, this feature will disable wake-locks and, when enabled, will prevent apps from accessing the network. This is a useful feature because apps won’t need to produce extra wake-locks or access the internet while the smart TV is in standby mode or turned off completely.
This new addition is also intended to reduce bandwidth usage and energy consumption on smart TVs. Because the limitations will be partially removed during doze windows, Google will ensure that the apps do not fully break in this mode. Android 13 will also improve the picture-in-picture (PiP) mode, in addition to the low-power standby mode.
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PiP mode is already supported on Android TV, and users can check it out with a default aspect ratio of 1.777778:1, which is ideal for presenting a 16:9 video. Developers, on the other hand, can make PiP windows with an aspect ratio of less than 1:2.39 or more than 2.39:1, depending on their preferences.
According to the report, Google will update this feature on Android TV 13 with the assistance of Google. Because of the new capability, developers will be able to make PiP windows that are smaller or larger than the specified aspect ratio. Furthermore, a new activity mechanism in Android 13 suggests that the PiP box will be able to dock alongside the main activity, making “both windows accessible to the user.”
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Google released a new version of Android TV a few months after releasing the alpha build of its latest Android operating system, on which the TV OS is built. About a month after the company announced the new Pixel phones running on Android 12, Google released Android TV 12 in 2021.
If the tech giant keeps to last year’s schedule, Android TV 13 should be announced in November. Furthermore, most manufacturers take some time to provide fresh Android TV builds after Google launches its current TV platform, so customers may have to wait a little longer to try out these new features.