Are you planning to buy a new television? The endless options can make your search rather difficult and time-consuming. One of the aspects that you may want to understand is the difference between Smart TV and Google TV.

We’ll take you, step-by-step, through many important terms that you must know to make a well-informed purchase. 😊👍🛒

Here we go! 🚀

What is meant by Smart TV?

A smart TV is a television that has built-in software and is capable of connecting to the internet to download applications and get access to the content.

Smart TVs run on one of the different operating systems (OS) like Android OS, Google OS, Fire OS, webOS, Tizen OS, etc.           

Smart TVs have become increasingly popular in recent years, and with the increasing adoption of this technology combined with innovative new features and designs, Smart TVs are only set to grow more prevalent.

What does Google TV mean?

Wondering what is Google TV and how does it work?

Google TV – what is it?

All Smart TVs have a built-in operating system (OS). The most popular ones are Android OS, Google OS, Fire OS, webOS, Tizen OS, etc.

A Google TV runs on the Google OS – one of the many operating systems that a Smart TV can run on.

Google TV can be understood as a software layer that runs on top of the Android TV OS and serves as an interface.

Simply put, the core of Google TV is Android TV OS only.

What is Google TV? | Video courtesy – Google

But the TVs running on Google TV OS are different and are available separately from those running on the Android TV OS.

The former are called Google TVs and the latter are known as Android TVs.

Difference between Smart TV and Google TV

A Smart TV is a television set that offers interactive features such as streaming apps and built-in web browsers.

They run on one of the different operating systems (OS) like Android OS, Google OS, Fire OS, webOS, Tizen OS, etc.

On the other hand, Google TV is a Smart TV that runs on the Google OS of Google.

In other words, ‘Smart TV’ is a wider concept that includes the term ‘Google TV’.

 ✔ A ‘Smart TV’ may or may not be a ‘Google TV’, depending on the operating system it runs on.

✔ However, a ‘Google TV’ is always a ‘Smart TV’.

In fact, ‘Google TV’ is a subset of ‘Smart TV’.

Bestselling Smart TVs on Amazon

Bestselling Google TVs on Amazon

What is a Smart TV capable of doing?

A Smart TV is capable of doing a lot more than a standard TV. It’s loaded with many ‘smart’ features that make it extremely interactive.

Some of the benefits of a Smart TV are:

  • Get recommendations about the trending OTT content or based on your preferences
  • Browse the internet, and save data while you explore the web – with Data Saver mode
  • Control the content that your kids should watch – Parental Control feature
  • Use your TV as a Personal Computer (PC) to work from the cloud on presentations, Excel, and Word documents or remotely access your office computer
  • Mirror your smartphone or laptop for a big-screen convenience
  • Use voice commands to browse through your TV, discover and play content, and even ask questions – using Google Assistant, Alexa, etc.
  • Play Music
  • View Photos and make albums
  • Connect your smartphone to your Smart TV instantly and cast photos, and videos using Google Chromecast or another such application
  • Connect your smart home devices to the TV

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What is the Use of Smart TV?

A Smart TV is a television with an embedded operating system and Internet connectivity.

The term smart is used in the sense that these TVs are capable of running applications or apps that can be downloaded from an application store.

A growing number of applications are available for a variety of uses. They include:

  • Internet access – web browsing and email.
  • Streaming video services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, SonyLiv, YouTube, and many more.
  • Access social media apps like Skype, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
  • Video games and other multimedia applications.
  • Apps for letting you use your Smart TV as a personal computer.
  • Availability of features like Google Assistant that you can use for exploring the web using your voice commands.
  • Apps to connect your smart devices with your smart TV.
  • Apps that let you play music, and, watch live TV.

These are just some of the uses of a Smart TV. The list of apps is endless and so is the number of ways that you can use your Smart TV.

A Smart TV’s capability to let you access and download a wide variety of apps directly makes it quite similar to your Smartphone and laptop.

What does Smart TV include?

A Smart TV includes a wide variety of preloaded apps. It may also give you access to download many more apps as per your liking using the app store such as Google Play, etc.

It’s capable of connecting to the Internet, using Ethernet or through a built-in Wi-Fi interface.

In addition to streaming video content from various OTT platforms, you can use your Smart TV, to some extent, the way you use your Smartphone or laptop.

You can listen to music, browse the internet, access social media apps, connect your devices, view photos, mirror the screens of your smart devices, and do more such things.

What does Google TV do?

What can I do with Google TV?

Wondering what does Google TV offer?

Powered by the Android OS underneath, Google TV has got many features that enhance your TV-using experience.

  • It provides you with access to Google Play services, including the Google Play Store, using which you can download applications, games, movies, and TV shows
  • Many apps give you access to live TV channels and video-on-demand content
  • Control your smart home using your Android TVs. For example, you can turn off lights or lock doors remotely through the console’s interface
  • Browse the web and check emails using Google Chrome
  • Play games on the big screen of your Android TV
  • With Google Assistant built into Android TV, you can easily get the information you need while watching television or playing games
  • Use voice commands to search for content and control your television with your voice, in addition to the remote control
  • Customize your TV’s home screen with widgets or shortcuts and organize your favorite applications and channels

Difference between Android TV and Smart TV

A Smart TV is a television set that offers interactive features such as streaming apps and built-in web browsers.

They run on one of the different operating systems (OS) like Android OS, Google OS, Fire OS, webOS, Tizen OS, etc.

On the other hand, Android TV is a Smart TV that runs on the Android OS of Google.

In other words, ‘Smart TV’ is a broader concept that includes the term ‘Android TV’, just like it includes ‘Google TV’.

In fact, ‘Android TV’ is also a subset of ‘Smart TV’.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


1. What is a Smart Google TV?


A Smart Google TV runs on the Google operating system.
Popular operating systems (OS) are Android, Google, Fire, webOS, and Tizen OS. 


2. Which Smart TV has Google Play Store?


All TVs that run on Android or Google operating systems give you access to the Google Play Store.
You can read more about the bestselling Android TVs here.


3. What is Google Assistant TV?


A Google Assistant TV runs on the Android or Google operating system and has the Google Assistant feature.
You can access the assistant even with a voice command – just by saying “OK Google” and can ask it questions or tell it to do things.


4. Sony Google TV vs Android TV


Sony has been providing Smart TVs with the Android operating system since 2015.
After the introduction of the Google TV platform, Sony proactively adopted it and launched many Sony Google TV models.
You may view them on Amazon here.
While the foundation of Google TV is the Android OS, the former can be seen as an improved version of the latter in terms of user interface and experience (UI-UX).
Moreover, the recent updates in Android OS have made its appearance and usage quite like Google TV.


5. What is a TV with Google TV?


Wondering what a TV with Google TV is?
This is precisely a Smart TV that runs on the Google TV operating system.


6. What is a Google TV Android TV?


A Google TV is a Smart TV with a Google operating system. Remember, Google TV has the Android TV operating system at its core.


7. Will Android TV update to Google TV?


It’s unclear whether an Android TV will get updated to Google TV.
However, the version of Android TV OS keeps getting updates from time to time.
The most recent updates have narrowed down the difference between Android TV and Google TV in terms of appearance, user interface, and experience (UI-UX), as well as the overall functionality.

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