This is a choice probably dictated by the intention to increase the distribution of cheap Android TV devices and improve the experience of those who own Google TV. But, especially the first, is it a good idea? Just to be clear for anyone unfamiliar with these topics, Android TV and Google TV are not two completely different things. Launched in 2014, Android TV is an operating system that powers televisions, boxes and dongles, just as Android powers Android phones or tablets. It currently runs Android 14, but it obviously doesn’t offer all the features of a phone with Android 14, and therefore requires much less RAM. That’s why while a phone needs at least 2GB of RAM to be certified by Google (at least with Android Go), it’s different for an Android TV device. The previous minimum requirements for an Android TV device to be certified by Google were 1.5 GB for Full HD (1080p) TVs and 2 GB for 4K TVs. Google TV, on the other hand, is an interface developed by Google, launched in 2020 and built on Android TV. In this sense, it can be considered a launcher, offering a more modern interface and more features, also powered by artificial intelligence. Google TV is therefore based on the same version of Android as Android TV. Until now, Google TV’s minimum RAM requirements were 1.5 GB, like Android TV. For example, the same Chromecast with Google TV (HD) has this amount of RAM.
According to an internal Google source, previews of which were shared by Android Authority, 1080p Android TV devices are now required to have 1GB of RAM, while 4K ones only have 1.5GB of RAM. In this case, devices must declare themselves as low memory devices to take advantage of the various optimizations of Android low RAM. The news was confirmed by a code change, not publicly announced, in the Gerrit AOSP , where we see the change regarding the minRAM requirements of Android TV. Not only that, but according to what has been reported, Google is working on many optimizations to make Android TV work better on TVs with only 1 GB of RAM. Obviously, Google’s idea is to increase the distribution of Android TV, by offering more and more cheap devices equipped with less powerful hardware. At the moment, we don’t know if there are any TVs, dongles, or Android TV boxes with 1GB of RAM, but we’re betting that several manufacturers are close to filling this niche, likely in emerging markets. Of course, Android doesn’t need a lot of RAM to run, especially on TVs where you only run one app at a time, but a certain amount is still needed: will 1 GB be enough for guarantee an acceptable user experience? Google is probably banking on its optimizations, and especially on the incredibly affordable prices of the new devices.
Instead, Google TV is taking the opposite route. Still the same source cited in the previous chapter, and as confirmed by the AOSP Gerrit code, Google TV devices now go from 1.5 GB to 2 GB of minimum RAM. As we noted at the beginning of the article, the same Chromecast with Google TV (HD) only has 1.5 GB of RAM, while the 4K version has 2. Just for comparison, the new Google Streamer has 4 GB, which allows it to have excellent performance despite a not particularly powerful processor. It’s unclear when this new memory requirement will come into effect for new Android TV and Google TV devices. The window for OEMs to launch new devices with Android TV 12 has just closed, meaning these new hardware requirements will primarily apply to new devices launching with Android TV 14.
