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Google has announced the end of developer support for Google TV, effectively killing the platform to make way for Android TV.
Google TV's unceremonious end has been heralded by a small Google+ post, announcing that the old service's developer tools have been withdrawn. It also urges developers to transition their efforts to Android TV now that it has "fully launched."
The post does claim that Google TV devices will continue to work, and that a minority will even receive an update to Android TV. But most people will have to buy one of the new Android TV sets from Sony, Sharp, and Philips, or even an Android TV box or console to stay up to date.
Google TV launched in 2010, taking the form of a range of set top boxes from various manufacturers that provided access to Google services, including its media store.
However, it never gained traction with customers, partly thanks to a lack of support from streaming content providers, and partly because the interface really wasn't much of an improvement over existing solutions.
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This prompted Google to go back to the drawing board, and in June it announced Android TV. This platform is essentially Android 5.0 Lollipop reconfigured for compatible smart TVs with a dramatically simplified interface and smoother performance.
Even at this early stage, Android TV is clearly a marked improvement in every way. There won't be too many people mourning the loss of Google TV.
