The Android TV 14 beta has just revealed a new secret. According to renowned insider Mishaal Rahman, the next version of Google’s OS will allow you to assign one or more blank keys on the remote control to your favorite applications. Simply the dream.
As you may know, Google has recently deployed the latest beta version of Android TV 14. Users who wish can therefore download it to preview the new features of this new version of the OS.
Mishaal Rahman, renowned insider and former editor of the XDA Developers site, has been having fun spotting the hidden tools and features of Android TV 14 for the past few days. Thus, we have learned that it will be visibly possible to receive and pass calls through Android TV. Not surprising, however, to see this option considered by Google, since Apple is working on a similar feature on tvOS 17.
Well, Mishaal Rahman struck again this Thursday, June 8, 2023. He just shared on Twitter another promising feature of Android TV 14. According to the beta, it will be possible assign a blank button on their remote control to the application of their choice.
Also read: Android TV – Google is finally adding custom profiles to your TVs
Android TV will finally allow you to customize the buttons on the remote control
Additionally, users will be able to choose to use this button to view or change the inputs of the TV or other connected devices. While this feature is currently disabled by default on the beta, Mishaal Rahman found a way to manually trigger it by digging into the beta code. As you can see in the screenshot, it says:
“To create a shortcut. You can press the Star button to open your favorite TV app or perform an action. Choose the shortcut type from the list below”.
Before getting carried away, however, it should be remembered that Google’s official remote does not currently have a star key. In other words, this implies that the Mountain View firm has launch in the next few months a new remote control, this time equipped with the famous Star button. Remember that we have already seen photos circulating on the web of a new Google remote control with other controls, including a Star button.
Apart from Google, it will be hoped that the other manufacturers will in turn offer remote controls with blank buttons, to allow as many people as possible to take advantage of this feature. This is already the case with TW Electronics, which presented a Google TV compatible remote control in January 2023. If its first particularity is to run on solar energy, we noticed that it had two white buttons precisely.
