Smart TVs running Android TV are quickly gaining popularity in India: there are millions of monthly active Android TV users across the country. Unfortunately, not everyone has Wi-Fi at home, which can make it difficult to connect the TVs to the internet. Instead, many smart TV owners decide to connect their devices by using their mobile hotspot. But that presents problems: watching HD TV on a mobile data connection can quickly drain your daily data plan.
Today, we're proud to introduce a set of 4 new features for India that help users get the most out of their smart TV with limited mobile data (and it works great with Google's Files app).
- Data Saver reduces your data usage on mobile connections, increasing watch time by up to 3x
- Data Alerts help you monitor your data usage while watching TV
- Hotspot Guide helps you set up your TV with your mobile hotspot
You can easily set up Data Saver (left) and see Data Alerts (right) while watching TV using your mobile hotspot
- Cast in Files lets you view downloaded media from your phone on your TV without using data
Files allows you to cast offline media to your TV without using data
These improvements will make it easy to watch streaming video on TV without draining your data. We'll be rolling out these features to Android TV devices in India over the coming weeks, starting with Xiaomi, TCL and MarQ by Flipkart, with a global rollout following after. Cast in Google's Files app is available today in the Beta program and will roll out to all users in the coming weeks.
By Joris van Mens, Product Manager, Next Billion Users