With so much focus on consumer-facing updates, it can be easy to forget that the rest of I/O is all about developers. So, when the company announces a rare piece of first-party hardware at the event, it should come as no surprise that it’s just not for the rest of us.
A month after passing mysteriously through the FCC, Google’s new Android TV dongle made its debut at an I/O session this afternoon. The ADT-2 is the follow up to, get this, the ADT-1, which was introduced at I/O back in 2014, designed to give devs an easy in to Google’s set-top offering.
The older version hasn’t really gotten much love in recent years, but Google’s letting the developer world know that it’s still committed with the sequel, which brings along a number of new features announced at the show today.
The biggest new bit for the limited-edition device is a preview of Android P. The upcoming version of the company’s mobile operating system brings some nice additions to the big screen, including autofill for passwords and auto installs of apps you put on handsets or past versions of Android TV. The dongle supports 4K streaming and has 8GB of storage built in. It also supports Google Assistant via a Bluetooth remote with built-in mics.
The ADT-2 comes as Google makes a renewed push around Android TV. Yesterday, the company announced a JBL soundbar that brings both Android TV and Assistant to sets via HDMI. The company has made it clear that the set-top version of Android will be a key part of the company’s play for the living room, as it looks to beat the likes of Apple and Fire TV.
Developers can apply for the device here.
