Audio Video News

Amid the usual flurry of TV-related news at last month's CES—including word that Sony is getting back into the OLED game—almost everyone missed a potentially big part of Sony’s TV announcement: That its 2017 Android-powered 4K TVs will be the first televisions to support Google Assistant, Google’s answer to Amazon’s Alexa.

But the Google capability won’t be immediately accessible when the TVs hit stores next month. Owners will have to wait for a firmware upgrade that Sony plans to deliver by the “end of the year.”

With Google Assistant, users will be able to tap a button on a microphone-equipped remote to control the TV and other devices using voice commands—or communicate with the TV via a Google Home speaker without pushing any buttons.

Wired explained how Google Assistant will work on Sony TV’s: “If you’re familiar with the way Assistant looks and sounds on a phone, a demo looked similar on Sony’s big screens. You hit a button on the remote, ask it things, and Assistant’s bubbly little bar appears on the bottom of the display. You’ll be able to ask it general queries and control other devices in the Google Home universe, but the built-in Assistant will have a few TV-specific features. For example, you can change source inputs just by asking, launch apps on the TV, start playing a show just by asking for it, and adjust the volume and channel.”