TCL announced big news this week: all of TCL's Google TV models will be available in the next month or so This includes new Google-powered versions of the highly popular TCL 6 and 5 series

This is the second time a major manufacturer has announced a Google TV-based smart TV, following the Sony 2021 TV lineup earlier this year, and represents a major step forward for the large-screen operating system In terms of market share and accessibility, the successor to Android TV will come in a more affordable display

But that's not all: by partnering with TCL and rolling out several new Google TV products, Google is squarely targeting the most popular smart TV platform with some of its most affordable smart TVs

Simply put, Google is taking the fight directly to Amazon's Fire TV and Roku smart TVs, and Google is here to win

TCL's name has been very closely associated with Roku for the past few years The two companies have worked closely with each other to make TCL's Roku TV the best affordable smart TV available Other TV manufacturers also offer Roku-powered displays, but a quick look at our selection of the best Roku TVs shows a lineup that leans heavily toward TCL products

TCL makes really good hardware and owns the entire manufacturing supply chain, from panels to finished TVs This allows them to maintain a very high level of quality

Innovations introduced by TCL, such as the combination of QLED and mini LED backlighting as seen in the review of the TCL 6-Series Roku TV (R635), have had a significant impact on the home theater market, with both Samsung and LG introducing mini LED light quantum dot TVs

TCL's innovations have had a significant impact on the home theater market

TCL introduced its first Android TV last year, but the platform has been relegated to the less expensive and less advanced Series 3 and Series 4 These Android-powered models are nearly identical to the Roku-powered models, but TCL's Android lineup is not as heavily advertised and is not widely available at major retailers The spotlight has always been on Roku

As a result, TCL was able to make the inexpensive Roku TV a major presence on TV So why add Google TV?

For starters, Google TV is the latest evolution of Android TV, which has been the name of Google's smart TV interface for the past few years Based on the same Android operating system as many phones and tablets, the TV-oriented version of Android benefits from a rich selection of apps and services within the Android ecosystem and the flexibility to run on any kind of hardware

In addition, Google's smart TV interface is not tied to any TV manufacturer, unlike LG's webOS or Samsung's Tizen platform As a result, Android TV has been licensed to multiple TV manufacturers and, along with Roku, is the only brand-agnostic option for TV buyers

In many ways, the switch to Google TV is a branding move Branding changes include advanced content suggestions that combine Google's many content channels (YouTube, YouTubeTV, Google Play Video, etc) with search capabilities, linking TV viewer profiles to Google users, linking cell phones to This is accompanied by several new features, including the ability to save and share watchlists between TVs

The move to Google TV will also enhance smart home compatibility, leveraging Google's deep ties to Nest products and the growing ecosystem of other smart home devices as those product categories mature Both Sony and TCL Google TVs have long-range microphones, essentially turning the TV into a large smart speaker like Google Home, with the ability to work with smart thermostats, video doorbells, and a myriad of other devices

The result is a refinement of what was already an excellent smart TV experience It is such a significant improvement that Tom's Guide awarded it its 2021 Best Smart TV Platform Award

The addition of Google TV to TCL's higher quality but lower cost models, the 5 and 6 series, represents an important change for both TCL and Google As the smart TV category matures, we expect this to result in some of the best smart TVs coming to market at aggressive prices

This move also seems like a carefully calculated step on TCL's part: while TCL's 2020 TV lineup included some of the best TVs we saw last year, in 2021 TCL will bring those same models forward as flagship TVs for the new year It has chosen to do so This was a bit of a gamble, betting that some of last year's best affordable TVs would not be replaced by models from competing manufacturers like Hisense and Visio (This was by no means a safe bet, as all of these competitors have introduced great TVs this year) But the gamble has so far paid off, as evidenced by TCL's 6-series reigning as the best value among the best TV models

By now, it seems that TCL's plan was to launch a new Google TV-powered version of these award-winning TVs They would effectively combine the same top-notch hardware with Google's revamped operating system to compete in the same high-value category

What about Roku: given that TCL also just partnered with Roku to launch the TCL Roku TV 6-Series 8K (R648), it is unlikely that the TCL/Roku combination will disappear anytime soon However, the addition of Google TV is a big step forward

For now, it appears that TCL's Google TV will be a bit more expensive at launch than the equivalent Roku model from last year The new sets are available for pre-order, with the 5 series starting at $599 and the 6 series starting at $999 However, my expectation is that the slight price increase for the new Google TV sets will quickly disappear as the release window passes and sales begin to bring prices down to levels closer to the current Roku set prices

We will have to wait for individual reviews and hands-on with the new TVs to make a more detailed case for TCL's new sets But the fact remains that TCL has issued a warning to Roku and Amazon Low-priced TVs are about to become a hotly contested battleground

As a reviewer and smart TV enthusiast, I couldn't be happier: the premium smart TV category, dominated by LG, Samsung, and Sony, has long offered the kind of enhanced features many people want in a smart TV, but at premium TV prices, These models have been kept out of most homes; no one is likely to pay $2,000 for a high-end model when all they want is a 4K display that can play Netflix or Disney Plus As a result, most people don't get the coolest smart TV features, and that's a real shame

If TCL can do for Google TV what it has done for Roku smart TVs-that is, offer above-average quality at a surprisingly reasonable price-affordable TVs could be greatly improved across the board Such is the case with this new TCL Google TV, as well as with Roku and Amazon TVs, where competition is heating up This could be the best thing to happen to smart TV in years