Android TV 13 will also receive important news, in addition to the “main” release dedicated to smartphones and tablets. The usual Mishaal Rahman of Esper has published a detailed analysis, but for now, it can be summarized in a very synthetic way with two points: improvements to the Picture-in-Picture and a new standby mode with low power consumption.
PIP EXPANDS
In the latest Android releases (and Android TV accordingly), developers can specify the PiP window ratio in order to optimize it for the content to be played. The default is 1.777778:1 (which is equivalent to the classic 16:9), while the lower and upper limits were 1:2.39 and 2.39:1 (which corresponds to the cinematic 21:9). With Android 13 these limits will no longer be valid, and developers can overcome them if they wish.
Some traces in the code suggest that it will be possible to activate a sort of Split-screen or multi-window mode that will simultaneously anchor an expanded PiP window to one of the screen frames.
REDUCED STANDBY POWER CONSUMPTION
As we know, Android TV devices do not turn off “for real” almost never: they remain in standby in such a way as to guarantee a re-ignition time appropriate to the category of device – we have always been used to a wait of a couple of seconds at most, it would be difficult to switch to the typical levels of laptops and phones.
The new mode, simply called Low Power Standby, imposes even stricter restrictions on apps, disables all network connectivity and prevents wake-locks. There are pauses in these restrictions at regular intervals of time to allow apps to update and complete their tasks.
For the moment we do not know anything else. It’s worth mentioning that historically Android TV comes several months (if not a year) after the release of the same smartphone release (with “output” we mean when the update is distributed on currently supported Pixels). It is likely that over the next few months there will be further developments and news, but it is better not to expect anything too upsetting.