![\"Android](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Android-TV-UI-with-ads.jpg\"\/ "\\"Android")
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Robert Triggs \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
For years and years, Apple fans could hold it over Android users\u2019 heads that their platform was the place to get regular, reliable system updates, keeping their devices operating at their best with all the latest new features. That\u2019s arguably still true when we\u2019re looking at certain Android devices, but the situation has gotten a whole<\/strong> lot<\/strong> better, and if you\u2019re rocking a mainstream handset like a Pixel or a Galaxy, you\u2019ve largely got nothing to worry about when it comes to updates.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s great. For phones.<\/p>\n Android\u2019s ambitions don\u2019t begin and end with portable hardware, though, and for over a decade now we\u2019ve been able to turn to Android TV as a platform for feeding our entertainment needs. Whether you\u2019ve got a TV with Android TV baked in, or you\u2019re adding it on through an external stick or box<\/a>, the OS has offered not just a convenient way to access our favorite streaming services, but also stuff like smart home controls<\/a> \u2014 and even games, in a pinch.<\/p>\n In 2025, shoppers know what to expect from Android updates on phones. But with Android TV, it’s anyone’s guess.<\/p>\n But while updates have become nice and predictable on Android phones, the situation could not be any more different on Android TV \u2014 and that includes devices running the modern Google TV interface, as well. On Android TV, access to system updates is still the Wild West, and the consequences of this are being felt right now by owners of Sony TVs.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s latest major platform release, Android TV 14<\/a>, has its one-year birthday coming up next month. But despite being around so long, many users are still running old software. And that\u2019s exactly why it felt like such big news when we saw Sony TVs receiving their Android TV 14 updates<\/a> earlier this week.<\/p>\n Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n If you saw our coverage at the time, you already know what a mess that\u2019s turned out to be. While the company is indeed updating some of its sets, it\u2019s incredibly opaque just which models are due these updates, and while it initially looked like Sony might be targeting hardware based on the specific silicon they\u2019re running, user reports show the actual distribution is far less predictable.\u00a0 Many are still stuck on older Android TV releases, and even if you go digging through Sony\u2019s support pages looking for firmware downloads you can manually install, we\u2019re noticing that Android TV 14 updates aren\u2019t necessarily available yet for hardware that should be getting them.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t mean to pile on Sony here (although the numerous comments we received about updates bricking TVs certainly gives us pause), and while this recent incident doesn\u2019t leave the company looking great, Android TV\u2019s update problem is far from specific to this one manufacturer. This is endemic across the platform.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/strong><\/p>\n Buy an Android phone today, and you know what to expect in terms of updates<\/a>: You\u2019re going to get so many years of major platform releases, and so many years of security patches. Spend just as much money on a new TV, though, and you\u2019re probably going to be completely in the dark as to what level of software support you can hope to expect. Granted, Android TV releases come out with less frequency<\/a> than mainstream Android, but it\u2019s like manufacturers aren\u2019t even attempting to set user expectations here, largely just ignoring the question altogether.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all the more frustrating when you look at how long we keep TVs around. With phones, we\u2019re at the point now where software support arguably exceeds hardware lifespan in most cases; if you\u2019re not eventually just breaking your phone after a few years, you\u2019re trading it in for a newer model. But with TVs, many of us are happy to keep viewing the same screen for five years or more, easily, and there\u2019s much less pressure to be chasing the hot new model every year.<\/p>\n So why is the situation not reversed? Why are the big, conspicuous devices that stare at us from their perch on the wall for year after year not the ones where long-term support is the priority?<\/p>\n We keep TVs around for years, and the lack of clear messaging surrounding update expectations is nothing short of maddening. <\/p>\n Honestly, part of that different approach makes sense. What we need from Android on TVs is vastly different from what we\u2019re looking to get out of it on phones, and priorities like security, and access to new communication features just don\u2019t impact TVs in nearly the same way. But that apologist take also doesn\u2019t do anything to forgive the needlessly confusing messaging (or lack thereof) surround the availability of updates \u2014 at least let users know what to expect.<\/p>\n If Google wants Android TV and Google TV to be taken as seriously as its mobile platform, it needs to lead the way with communication about updates, and see that manufacturers follow. But right now, shoppers are basically going in blind. This is the farthest thing from a problem that can\u2019t be solved, but all the companies involved are going to have to decide it\u2019s one worth solving.<\/p>\n![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Google-TV-Streamer-white-remote.jpg\"\/ "\\"Google")
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