The Windows Subsystem for Android allows you to install and run Android apps on a Windows 11 PC. So far it’s only available to members of the Windows Insider Preview program, and officially Microsoft only supports installing about 50 apps downloaded from the Amazon Appstore right now (although more apps will become available over time). […]
smart tv
Walmart’s 1080p Android TV stick sells for $25
This month Walmart began selling a $30 Android TV media streamer that’s basically a generic design with the company’s in-house electronic brand Onn slapped on the box. Now the company has an even cheaper option. The Onn FHD Streaming Stick is a $25 dongle that plugs into the HDMI port of your TV and allows […]
Mozilla is ending support for Firefox on Amazon Fire TV and Echo devices
The Firefox web browser is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers as well as Android and iOS phones and tablets. For the past few years there’s also been a version of Firefox for Amazon Fire TV devices that you could use to surf the web or stream videos from sites that might not have […]
LG will license webOS for use on third-party smart TVs (It’s come a long way from the Palm days)
WebOS is an operating system that was originally developed by Palm for smartphones, acquired by HP for use on tablets as well as phones, and when that turned out to be a flop, HP sold its webOS assets to LG, which uses it for smart TVs and other smart home products. Now LG plans to […]
Android TV is getting instant apps, improved keyboard, and other new features
Google’s Android TV software is, unsurprisingly, based on the same software that powers Android phones, tablets, and other devices. Not all the features you can use on phones are available on TVs… but Google has announced it’s bringing one of its mobile to its smart TV platform. Soon developers will be able to offer “instant […]
KDE’s Plasma Bigscreen is an open source user environment design for TVs
KDE Plasma is a free and open source desktop environment originally designed for GNU/Linux PCs, and eventually adapted to phones. Now the folks at KDE have announced a new version customized for TVs and other big-screen displays. It’s called… Plasma Bigscreen. In a nutshell, Plasma Bigscreen brings the sort of features you’d expect from a […]
Android TV arrives on Soundbars
Android TV — it’s not just for TVs anymore. Now it also supports speakers you… plug into your TV. OK, I guess that’s not a big stretch. Google announced plans to bring Android TV to soundbars earlier this year, and now the first model is up for order — the JBL Link Bar is a […]
Samsung’s new Smart TVs will support iTunes and Apple AirPlay
Samsung’s 2019 smart TV lineup will support all the usual streaming video services including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube and Google Play. But Samsung has announced that they’ll also have an Apple iTunes Movies and TV Shows app and AirPlay 2 support. That will make Samsung’s TVs the first third-party media streamers to support iTunes. Up […]
Samsung’s new Smart TVs will support keyboard and mouse input
The line between computers and… everything else keeps getting blurrier. The phone in your pocket is basically a computer. Your smart thermostat? It’s a specialized computer. And your smart TV that can stream content from Netflix and YouTube? Computer. But it’s easy to forget that because you don’t usually interact with those devices the same […]
Will the OnePlus TV have a headphone jack?
OnePlus has been selling smartphones since 2014. Next year the company plans to launch its first television. Details are scarce, but the move isn’t a huge surprise. A lot of the technology behind smartphones and smart TVs is similar. Both are internet-connected devices designed to run a series of apps, for example. And companies including […]