-
Kids Mode, where Google says you’ll get ‘rows of kid-friendly app recommendations’.
-
This is what the Google TV interface normally looks like.
Google
-
You can choose a cool dinosaur theme.
Google
-
The parental controls seem much friendlier and are not just something buried in the system settings.
Google
It certainly sounds like Google is reconnecting the TV space with Google TV – a new name, revamped version of Android TV. In addition to the new content-centric (instead of app-centric) home screen, watch list and an upcoming ‘stupid TV’ mode, Google is now improving parental control support.
The new ‘kids profiles’ will feature a fun, kid-friendly user interface with themes like ‘dinosaurs’, ‘space’ and ‘under the sea’. The big, new feature of Google TV – content-oriented recommendations – will also launch in a kid-friendly mode and move educational content to the home screen.
Parental functionality looks almost the same as in Android TV, and parents can limit the total screen time, sleep time and individual apps. The big difference is the interface with a friendlier user interface that no longer looks like a system administrator panel. The controls are also compatible with Google’s Family Link app, which enables remote control and tracking.
Child Mode looks like a baby that is currently solving Google TV’s biggest problem: the lack of support for multiple profiles. The flagship feature of Google TV is the recommendation screen for the home screen, but there is no distinction between users, so it will hurt the viewing habits of the whole household. Google readily supported this shortcoming in the blog post, saying, “I personally want to find my shows and movies without being overwhelmed by my kids’ content.”
Child mode allows you to get quarantined Sesame Street according to your recommendations, but there is still no way to separate the viewing habits between adults. Hopefully, Kids Mode is the start of full profile support with personalized recommendations and watchlists, but Google did not come out and say so.
Google TV is currently very rare, mainly available (only?) On the new “Google Chromecast with Google TV” launched in September. It’s also on its way to Sony’s entire Bravia XR 2021 series and certain TCL TVs that will appear later this year. Google’s decision to change the name of its TV product from Android TV to Google TV makes everything unnecessarily confusing, but it’s all the same code base. Google’s TV operating systems based on Android 9 and below are called ‘Android TV’, and the new versions, based on Android 10 and later, are ‘Google TV’. In theory, some Android TV decoders and smart TVs could be upgraded to Google TV, as this is just the next version. Your device manufacturer will need to do this actually however, send an update, and many smart TV manufacturers do not.
Google says support for child profiles on Google TV ‘will start in the US from this month and worldwide over the next few months’.