Google TV launched on select Android TV devices last fall, offering easy access to media content and favorite streaming services. While a fairly useful addition, Android TV overall still lags behind Apple TV and Roku devices in several key departments.

However, Google is closing the gap with a number of Google TV upgrades announced at Google I/O 2021. The most useful of these features, Stream Transfer and Stream Expansion, are ideal for those with multiple devices and households.

Stream Transfer, as the name implies, is a feature that makes it easy to transfer content from one Android TV device to another. For example, if you are halfway through a video in the living room and want to finish watching it on your TV in the bedroom, you can simply transfer it.

It works with Chromecast, smart speakers, smart displays, and Android TV OS sets. It also supports audio apps such as YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, and Tunein.

Stream Expansion, on the other hand, focuses on audio accessories, especially speakers. It can play audio from multiple speakers in sync. It is ideal for users with a full home audio setup.

Another nifty new feature coming to Android TV is the ability to use a cell phone as a remote control. This will not only save a lot of time and effort in entering login information and using the search bar for streaming services, but will also be very helpful if the remote control is mysteriously lost.

The remaining updates to Google TV are aimed at developers, but should ultimately make the experience better for users as well. Among them are the ability to use the popular application testing service Firebase Test Lab and improved emulator support, which is useful for testing how apps work within Google TV.

Google also announced at I/O 2021 that Android TV now has over 80 million monthly active users. It is certainly no small player in the market, especially considering that Roku reported 51 million US users in the last quarter of 2020.

Currently, Google TV is available on Chromecast and Google TV, Sony Smart TVs (although a new deal with TCL will soon interface with their displays), and on Android devices in the form of an app downloadable ...