TP-Vision will release Android Oreo for most Philips TVs from November
TP-Vision will start releasing the Android Oreo operating system for a large number of Philips TVs in November. The recently announced new OLED TVs from Philips still run on version 7 Nougat of Android TV when they are released and are the last models to receive the update.
TP-Vision manager Piotr Herod told FlatpanelsHD website that owners of Philips Android TV models released in 2016, 2017 and 2018 can expect an update to Android Oreo from November. The release of the update will continue until the end of the year and some TVs will get the update in the first quarter of 2019.
The website writes that the 2016 models, whose names end in 01, will be the first to receive the Oreo update. Next up are the 2017 models ending in 02 and the 2018 models; these TVs get the update simultaneously. TP-Vision started releasing Philips TVs running on Android TV in 2015; the models from that year will not receive an update to Android Oreo.
The recently announced Philips OLED+ 903 and OLED 803 TVs are the last to receive the update for version 8 Oreo. This may have been chosen because these OLED TVs have a double tuner. TP-Vision already announced at the introduction of the Philips OLED+ 903 and the OLED 803 that these televisions would receive an update to version 8 Oreo in the long run, but the manufacturer did not yet mention a concrete term.
According to Piotr Herod, it took more than a year to prepare the software. Google released version 8 Oreo in the fall of last year. Herod reports that stability is the top priority and that many TV manufacturers need extra time to integrate tuner functionality into each new Android TV version. He acknowledges that previously released Android TV updates for Philips TVs have been problematic, something he now hopes to avoid with the release of Oreo. Sony will release the first TVs with Oreo in October.
TP-Vision will first start in November with a small-scale release in a few countries. It is unknown which countries are involved. The manufacturer chooses this so that it can evaluate the results, after which the new software is gradually released in more regions.
With the Android TV update to version 8 Oreo, a newly designed interface is introduced, among other things. Users can move or delete the rows in the interface and manufacturers can add their own rows of content. In addition, it will be possible for the Android TV models from 2017 and 2018 to use the voice assistant Google Assistant. Amazon Alexa is only supported by the 2018 Philips Android TV models.