Latest Update: The final release of Android 12 for TV is now available.

With the official release of Android 12, we are also making the most recent platform release available for TV. Take this opportunity to start building and testing your apps to make them compatible with the latest Android release on the new Google TV experience. Alternatively, the build images for the standard Android TV experience are also available for download.

We’ve added more customizations to Android 12 to improve the experience and compatibility on TV devices. Some of the highlights for TV are media playback improvements, more refined user interface capabilities, and privacy and security enhancements. In addition, we’re introducing better standards to support and improve HDMI and tuners.

Here’s an overview of what’s new in Android 12 for TV:

Media

• Avoid motion judder during playback using refresh rate switching
• Certified API accuracy for reporting display modes, HDR formats, and surround sound formats

User interface

• Background blurs using RenderEffect and in WindowManager
• 4K UI support
• Accessibility settings for font sizes

Privacy and security

• Microphone and camera indicators
• Microphone and camera toggles
• Device attestation via Android KeyStore API

HDMI and tuner

• Support for HDMI-CEC 2.0
• Tuner HAL 1.1 with DTMB support and performance improvements
• Better protection model with Tuner Service

Refer to the Android 12 documentation for a full list of the changes included in Android 12. Note that not all features apply to TV.

Download the system images for the ADT-3 Developer Kit to get started. Alternatively, you can use the Android Emulator for TV, which lets you try some of the new user interface capabilities like background blurs and 4K UI support.

How to get started

If you have an existing ADT-3 developer device, the device will automatically receive an OTA to Android 12. Alternatively, you can install Android 12 by following these steps:

1. Use the ADT-3 Developer Kit for Android TV. The provided system image is for ADT-3 developer devices only.
2. Download the system image.
3. Install the system image on your ADT-3 device.

Install system images manually

You can download the latest Android 12 system image and manually flash it to your test device. Manually flashing a device gives you precise control over the test environment and can be performed with command line tools.

After you back up your device data, download one of the following ADT-3 builds and then flash the image onto your device.

ADT-3 factory images