SmartStream

Google TV has rolled out updates to improve the Chromecast and TV’s operating system. The changes shorten boot time and make switching between tabs and launch apps faster. While some avid users have complained about Google TV’s performance, the improvements will likely be only subtly noticeable for most.

Typically, when an update is announced, the home screen or other features change, and it’s obvious what has been done. For example, new updates to Prime Video make it “easier to find” content. But Google TV already has one of the best menus on a streaming player. Still, Google is reacting to feedback that the system is slow.

Recently, Google TV added profiles. By separating each family member, its exceptional recommendation algorithm offers each user a personalized experience.

There’s been a delay when switching to kids’ profiles that may have parental control and completely different content than the recommendations shown to adults. Improved performance in cache management makes it faster to switch to kids’ profiles. Eliminating the latency makes it quicker to go from loading a kid’s profile to starting an app.

Some of the changes improve the performance of the Google TV home screen (For You tab). This is the menu that displays recommendations across all apps. The home screen has a faster startup because of the better cache management and CPU optimization. This makes it quicker and smoother to scroll through menus and switch tabs.

The updated system also uses less RAM, which should help stabilize streaming content.

Along with the performance changes, Google has improved storage management to make room for downloading more apps. It starts with how Google TV handles app installation, and the new processes automatically free up space when apps are downloaded.

You can manually manage storage easily in a new “Free Up Storage” submenu. To get to the menu, go to Settings > System > Storage > Free Up Storage. (Settings can be found by clicking on your icon in the top right of the screen.) From this menu, simply choose the app that you want to uninstall.

Over time, apps will clog up with a lot of temporary data. The Clearing Cache feature will clear the cache from all apps. Doing this doesn’t affect saved data or your login. Still, it may make it slower to launch an app initially. If you have many apps, clearing the cache makes room to load more apps and keep those you have running smoothly.

The changes should already be available on Chromecast with Google TV. Changes will soon gradually roll out to smart TVs with Google TV.