Android TV 12 is now available for developers: official release soon?

More than a month has passed since Google announced Android 12, one of the most fundamental updates for the Android operating system in the last few years. Now, the search giant is continuing its wave of updates with the 12th version of Android TV.

Google has now officially launched Android TV 12, which comes with many new features and improvements. To begin with, there is 4K UI support, which means the interface will look much better for those who are rocking a 4K TV at their homes. The background blurs, and accessibility settings for font sizes have also been added to make content more intuitive and easier to navigate.

As for enjoying any kind of media—what you likely care most about—Android TV 12 comes with refresh rate switching, which helps to reduce motion judder during playback.

With the Pixel 6 and Android 12, Google introduced a slew of new privacy features and options and has continued that trend with Android TV 12. Now there are indicators and toggles for both the camera and the microphone. There is also device attestation on board, which is a way to verify the authenticity of your software and hardware.

Additionally, Android TV 12 has received support for HDMI CEC 2.0, a tuner HAL 1.1 with DTMB support, and a better protection model with Tuner Service.

Admittedly, none of the improvements mentioned above can be regarded as groundbreaking, but when put together they amount to a welcome refinement. In other words, you won’t necessarily feel a huge difference, but Android TV 12 will be a better experience than before.

The bad news is that, at least for now, the only way to try out the new Android TV is to get yourself an ADT-3—Google's very own development box. However, that device is meant for developers. Us mortals will have to wait until the official release, which will hopefully come sometime in the first half of 2022.