Google is in between hardware launches atCES 2024, but ithasbeen taking to these trade shows to demonstrate its studious technocrat role in maintaining the peace around Android and its associated platforms. And while we could talk about the company’s amazing funhouse-esque booths at these conferences, we’ll keep to a few feature announcements that should bring continuity when you’re dealing with devices of all sorts back at home.
TVs tend to take up the most space at CES, so it’s only fitting for Google to drop some new sorcery on that front. Here’s everything it announced during the Vegas show.
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1Fair Pair on Chromecast with Google TV
Link earbuds up with just a click of your remote
For starters, those with aChromecast with Google TVwill be able to use Fast Pair when a software update drops next month. If you’ve got a couple of earbuds, some headphones, even a phone or Chromebook in pairing mode, you’ll see that device pop up on your TV screen and you’ll be able to link them up with just a click of your remote control. As a reminder, your device will need to support Bluetooth Low Energy and have Android Location Services enabled to use Fast Pair.
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2Cast TikToks to Google TV devices
Starting January 9
Casting is a big deal if you’re looking to share photos and clips from your phone with a whole bunch of people in a room at once – that’s what a TV is for, right? Well, Google has announced that you’ll be able to castTikTokto Google TV devices starting today. The company does lean heavily into “Chromecast built-in” as a term of art in itsblog post on The Keyword, but you should be able to cast TikToks to any Cast-compatible display; Google created and maintains the underlying Cast protocol.
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3Matter for Google TV devices
Plus some Android TV devices and future LG TVs
Finally, if you’re looking forward toMatterunifying your smart home situation, Google says to expect future LG TVs as well as some existing Google TV and Android TV devices to be able to act as hub devices that can help you control all of your appliancesvia Google Home’s various interfaces.
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4Pixel Tablet seamless switching
Expected to come later this year
Shrinking down from TVs, thePixel Tabletwill gain the ability to carry on playing whatever you’re streaming from Spotify or YouTube Music on your Pixel phone when you come home for the day. This seemingly simple switch is expected to come later this year, which is probably why we’re seeing a mock-up and not a screenshot of the finalized feature.
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5EV battery predictions
Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning get support first
Also coming down the road, literally, is EV battery predictions on head units running Google Maps withAndroid Auto. Drivers who own a Ford Mustang Mach-E or F-150 Lightning will be the first to receive handy information on what their charges will be after a planned trip, how long a charge might take, and where they might want to charge.
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6Nearby Share becomes Quick Share
Answer to Apple’s AirDrop
Last, but not least, a merging of families with regards to wireless file sharing: Google is renamingNearby Share, its answer to Apple’s AirDrop, to Quick Share – the name Samsung took for the exact same feature that Galaxy phone owners are used to seeing. With this move, all Android users will be seeing a new logo tied with the Quick Share name, but they’ll still be able to perform the exact same function as they have for years: link up with Android and ChromeOS devices through Bluetooth and share files over a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection. And support is expected to expand with LG and other manufacturers working on bringing their Windows PCs into the Quick Share ecosystem.
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