TCL made a big splash at the all-virtual CES with the introduction of a rollable display which was also accompanied by TVs with Google TV support. Though it can be said with confidence that the forthcoming smart TVs from TCL will feature Google TV UI; it leaves us wondering what the future holds for the previous TVs from the company. Maybe that’s run by the company reps too, and there are reports that TCL could be updating its 2019 and 2020 Android TV models to run Android 11.
This was confirmed by the TCL to FlatpanelsHD. It is worth noting here that the company has not confirmed whether the older models – the 2019 and 2020 TVs per se – will be updated to the Google TV interface or not.
Though it is clear that the 2021 models from TCL, especially the ones in Europe, will come with Google TV right out of the gate. The TV set from the previous two years would however be updated to Android 11 and continue to remain in the Android environment itself.
While TCL users can feel lured for the Google TV environment, the Android 11 update is no small feat. Though we aren’t really sure – no official word yet – about what features Android 11 will bring to the TCL television, but it’s likely to bring performance improvements, support for instant apps, and Gboard TV keyboard that offers speech-to-text functionality.
If you’re owning a TCL set, this news may get you excited. But you’d have to hold on before this feeling syncs in. The TCL TVs of 2019 and 2020 will get the update for Android 11 toward the third quarter of this year. So if you don’t upgrade to a Google TV by then, this won’t be a bad bet.