Are you considering buying a new television for your beautiful home? Wondering “Smart TV vs Android TV – which is better?”

Don’t worry. You’ll find the answer here. 😊👍

Read on!

Every brand offers multiple models of televisions. They are all different with different features. With so many models of TVs out there, it’s really difficult to select the one that gives you the best bang for your money.

So, what is better – Smart TV or Android TV?

Let’s begin by understanding what the Smart TV and the Android TV are.

What is Smart TV?

Smart TVs are television sets that connect to the internet to stream content from a variety of apps.

They’ve got an inbuilt operating system (OS) – which allows them to run apps, games, and other types of media.

It’s worth noting that the Smart TVs essentially run on an operating system (OS) like:

  • Android OS,
  • Google OS,
  • Fire OS,
  • webOS,
  • Tizen OS, etc.

What Does a Smart TV Do?

Using a Smart TV, you can stream video content from various OTT platforms like Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Hungama, SonyLiv, Amazon Prime, Voot, ALT Balaji, ZEE5, YouTube, and more directly onto your TV screen.

Additionally, Smart TVs also have many built-in smart features that allow you to access and control your TV using your smartphone, tablet, or PC.

What Features Does a Smart TV Have?

In addition to watching your favorite content using various apps, you get a host of other features in a Smart TV like:

  • 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

However, these features do vary from model to model.

Bestselling Smart TVs on Amazon?

What is Android TV?

An Android TV is a Smart TV built using Google’s Android operating system.

Smart TV has to run on an operating system (OS).

Android OS is one of the many popular OS on the market.

As such, an Android TV runs on Android OS.

With Android as the operating system for your Smart TV, you get access to numerous apps from Google’s Play Store – Google Play. These apps are specially designed to be used on a TV.

One of the many benefits of Android TV is its ability to run third-party applications through Google Play. This means that you have access to hundreds of thousands of different apps that can be installed on your Smart Android TV.

What are the Features of Android TV?

Android TV has many features that enhance your TV-using experience like:

  • 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 vs 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 wider concept that also includes the term ‘Android TV’.

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

Bestselling Android TVs on Amazon?

Android TV vs Smart TV – Which is better?

So, Android vs Smart TV – Which is better?

A smart TV is a television set with an embedded operating system. The operating system allows the installation of additional applications and services, such as Internet browsers, media players, games, or web-based TV guides.

Some of the popular and commonly used operating systems for Smart TVs are Android OS, Google OS, Fire OS, webOS, Tizen OS, etc.

👉 A ‘Smart TV’ may or may not be an ‘Android TV’, depending on the operating system it runs on.

👉 However, an ‘Android TV’ is always a ‘Smart TV’.

So if you’re wondering “What is better – Android TV or Smart TV?”,

‘Smart TV’ is a much wider term that is used to denote all internet-connected TVs irrespective of the operating systems they use.

✔ And ‘Android TV’ is a part (subset) of the wider ‘Smart TV’ market.

DON’T MISS OUR HANDPICKED RECOMMENDATION

Top 10 Smart & Android TVs

Top 10 TVScreen Size (inches)ResolutionOperating SystemBest Deal on AmazonOverall ScoreModel
MI Smart LED TV32HD ReadyAndroidPrice4.9/55A Pro
LG Smart LED TV32HD ReadyWebOSPrice4.8/532LM563BPTC
MI Smart LED TV434K Ultra HDAndroidPrice4.9/55X
Samsung Smart LED TV32HD ReadyTizen OSPrice4.8/5T4340
Redmi Smart LED TV32HD ReadyAndroidPrice4.9/5L32M6-RA/L32M7-RA
Redmi 4K Smart LED TV434K Ultra HDAndroidPrice4.9/5X43
OnePlus Smart LED TV32HD ReadyAndroidPrice4.9/5Y1
OnePlus Smart LED TV43Full HDAndroidPrice4.9/5Y1S
Redmi Smart LED TV504K Ultra HDAndroidPrice4.9/5X50
Sony Bravia 4K Smart LED TV554K Ultra HDGoogle TVPrice5.0/5X74K

Similarities between Android TV and Smart TV

An Android TV is a type of smart TV that runs on the Android operating system, providing additional features and capabilities.

In other words, Android TV is a smart TV only that runs on Google’s Android TV operating system.

All Android TVs use Google’s software and navigation, resulting in a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate.

However, a smart TV can even be powered by some other operating system like Tizen, WebOS, or FireTV instead of Android OS.

Difference between Android TV and 4K TV

Android TV and 4K TV are two different things.

👉 Android TV is a Smart TV that runs on the Android operating system.

👉 On the other hand, 4K or Ultra HD refers to the resolution of high-definition images.

Android TV is an operating system developed by Google that is used on Smart TVs to provide an intelligent and integrated entertainment hub for streaming video and music content along with games.

4K or Ultra HD refers to the resolution of high-definition images which is four times greater than that of full high-definition (HD).

4K displays have a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio).

The extra pixels produce an image that’s much sharper and more detailed than HD.

To sum up, the difference between Android TV and 4K TV is that the former is a Smart TV that runs on the Android operating system whereas the latter is the resolution of high-definition images that are displayed on the TV screen.

Difference between Android TV and Google TV

👉 Both Android TV and Google TV are two operating systems (OS) on which the Smart TVs run.

Android TV is the first OS for TVs from Google.

It’s still one of the most popular open-source OS that powers the Smart TVs of many well-known brands like Sony, Lloyd, Redmi, OnePlus, Mi, Vu, TCL, Kodak, Sanyo, and more.

In the recent updates, Android TV has been revamped a lot from its earlier versions.

Android TV now comes with your Google Assistant built-in. Just say “OK Google” to find your favorite content, while you are still watching the TV.

And you get more organized content for quickly discovering new things to watch.

With access to a wide variety of apps, you can make the best use of your TV – streaming, Live TV, or gaming.

With Chromecast built-in, you can quickly cast photos, videos, music, and other content that you love from your smartphone or PC straight to your TV.

Google TV is the next OS from Google, after Android TV. It’s not a completely new OS or entirely different from the Android TV OS.

The same Android TV OS forms the foundation of the Google TV OS. Only some features, including the user interface, are different in both the OS.

Google TV also lets you browse content from across the intelligently organized apps.

And you get a more personalized experience as the movies and shows are grouped according to your preferences. You even get content recommendations based on your interests.

You can also keep control of what content your kids should watch and for how long.

To sum up, you get all the features of the Android TV OS but with a different user interface (UI) and user experience (UI).

Disadvantages of Android TV

There aren’t many disadvantages to using Android TV; the benefits are many.

However, as compared to other Android devices (like smartphones, tablets, etc.), you may experience somewhat lesser functionality on an Android TV.

In this context, the disadvantages include:

  1. Limited app selection: While Android TV has access to the Google Play Store, the selection of apps available for the platform is limited compared to other streaming devices.
  2. Fragmentation: Because Android TV is used on a wide variety of devices from different manufacturers, the user experience can vary greatly.
  3. Limited voice control: The voice control capabilities of Android TV may be limited compared to other streaming devices.
  4. Limited customization: Unlike other Android devices, Android TVs don’t offer the same level of customization, which may be a limitation for some users.
  5. Dependence on Internet connectivity: Most of the functionalities, require a good Internet connection which can be a problem in some areas.
  6. Bugs and glitches: Some users have reported experiencing bugs and glitches while using Android TV.
  7. Security: As with all Android devices, security vulnerabilities can be an issue on Android TV. But the good news is that nothing worth mentioning has been found or reported on this front, meaning that Android TV is safe.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is Smart TV and Android TV the Same?

Wondering “Is Android TV and Smart TV the Same”? The short answer is YES and NO.
Android TV is a Smart TV that runs on the Android operating system.
And, Smart TV is a term used to denote any TV set that has an inbuilt operating system and the capability to connect to the internet.
In other words, all Android TVs are Smart TVs. But all Smart TVs are not Android TVs because they may or may not have Android as their built-in operating system. Instead, they can be running on some other operating system like Fire OS, Tizen OS, webOS, Google OS, and so on.

2. What does Android Smart TV mean?

Wondering”What does Smart Android TV mean”?
An Android Smart TV simply means a Smart TV that runs on the built-in Android TV operating system.
Remember, there are many operating systems that Smart TVs run on, like Tizen OS, webOS, Fire OS, Google OS, and so on. Android OS is just one of them.

3. What is Smart Tizen TV?

A Smart Tizen TV is essentially a smart TV that runs on the Tizen built-in operating system (OS). At present, Samsung uses the Tizen smart platform in all its smart TV models.
You can view the bestselling Smart Tizen TV models here. (link opens on Amazon)

4. What is a Smart Fire TV?

A Smart Fire TV runs on Amazon’s Fire operating system (OS).
Some of the prominent brands that provide Smart Fire TV are AmazonBasics, Onida, and Akai.
You can view the bestselling Smart Fire TV models here. (link opens on Amazon)

5. What is WebOS Smart TV?

A WebOS Smart TV is a smart TV that runs on the WebOS built-in operating system (OS). At present, LG uses WebOS in all its smart TV models.
You can view the bestselling WebOS Smart TV models here. (link opens on Amazon)

6. What is an Android Smart TV?

An Android Smart TV refers to a Smart TV that has Android OS as its built-in operating system (OS).

7. What is UHD Smart TV?

Ultra-high-definition (UHD) smart television is a type of high-definition TV that has a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. The TV has an aspect ratio of 16:9, which means it’s wider than it is tall.
Ultra HD TVs have four times the pixel count of standard HD TVs, which means you’ll see more detail in your favorite shows and movies.
UHD today includes both 4K UHD and 8K UHD digital video formats.
You can view the bestselling UHD Smart TV models here. (link opens on Amazon)

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