Android 10 Update Announced for Android TV, Packs Performance and Security Enhancements

Android 10 has finally reached Android TV. While Google launched Android 10 for smartphones back in September, the latest Android platform has now been released for Android TV devices. The new Android TV update, unlike its counterpart on smartphones, doesn't include any notable interface-level changes. Nevertheless, Google says that the latest version does bring the API level 29 and some of the key performance and security updates that are available to smartphones running Android 10. A new developer-focussed Android TV dongle called ADT-3 has also been introduced that is based on Android 10.

Google through an official blog post highlights that the Android 10 update for Android TV devices brings new performance and security enhancements. The search giant has also shown its excitement for Project Treble that will bring speedier Android updates to Android TV devices.

“We're excited to provide faster updates through Project Treble and more secure storage with encrypted user data. TLS 1.3 by default also brings better performance benefits and is up to date with the TLS standard. In addition, Android 10 includes hardening for several security-critical areas of the platform,” the company writes in the blog post.

Google hasn't specified any rollout schedule. It is, thus, safe to presume that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will bring the latest update to their Android TV devices at their convenience. Also, since the Nexus Player isn't supported, you need to wait for the rollout on devices such as the Nvidia Shield TV to experience the changes.

Having said that, Google has revealed ADT-3 as its new streaming dongle running the latest Android TV software. The dongle includes a quad-core Cortex-A53 SoC, paired with 2GB of DDR3 RAM. It also comes with a 4Kp60 HDR HDMI 2.1 output.

The arrival of the ADT-3 dongle would help developers design experiences for the new Android TV version and test its features ahead of the public rollout on third-party devices.

Google says that the ADT-3 dongle will be available to developers for purchase through an unspecified OEM partner “in the coming months.” However, details around the price and the manufacturer of the device are unknown.

It is quite certain that ADT-3 is meant for development purposes only. Google last year did something similar when it brought the ADT-2 as its over-the-top (OTT) HDMI stick to help developers design new Android TV apps.

Nevertheless, if we believe what XDA Developers reported through a purported roadmap in September, Google has some big plans with Android TV for the year 2020. The company may launch a “hero” device with smart home experiences and bring Google Stadia integration within new Android TV devices. Further, it could publicly offer a device like the ADT-3 dongle to bolster the adoption of Android TV.

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