Personalized profiles won’t be coming to your Google TV screens just yet, but ambient mode is here.
What you need to know
- Google TV’s personalized profiles have been delayed.
- The feature is now expected to arrive in the coming months.
- Fortunately, the ambient mode cards are rolling out as scheduled.
Google TV was supposed to get personalized profiles in November, but that feature never arrived last month. The search engine giant has now reportedly confirmed that Google TV’s much-anticipated feature has been postponed.
A Google representative told 9to5Google that profiles will be available in the coming months. Individual profiles are likely to arrive on many of the best Android TVs sometime next year, according to that vague timeline.
It’s not clear why the feature has been pushed back, but another highly anticipated feature is now rolling out to some users. Google TV’s ambient mode is apparently showing up for a small percentage of users in the United States for the time being, with a wider release expected in the next few weeks or months.
Ambient mode displays contextual information based on your profile, such as images from Google Photos, weather reports, content recommendations, and more. These are displayed in the form of glanceable cards, which you can cycle through to access the content.
When personalized profiles are available, Chromecast with Google TV users will have their own home screen layout with recommendations that match their content preferences. That means that other family members in a multi-user household won’t be able to spoil your movie recommendations with their viewing habits.
That being said, you’ll have to wait a little longer for now. So, if you live with family members who don’t share your taste in movies and TV shows, it appears that your content recommendations will be erratic for the time being.
Chromecast with Google TV
$40 at Best Buy
$40 at B&H
Chromecast with Google TV is a fantastic choice for anyone looking for the best smart TV experience. You can get smart content recommendations and hands-free access to your favorite shows, movies, and apps thanks to Google Assistant and Google’s AI prowess.