Gemini arrives on Google TV
Google is bringing its Gemini AI assistant to the living room, with TCL’s new QM9K series becoming the first TVs to ship with the LLM-tech built in.
It sounds like a serious upgrade from the basic voice commands we’ve been used to with Google Assistant; instead of barking out rigid phrases and hoping for the best, you should be able to have full conversations with your television.
For example, you can tell Gemini what kind of show or movie that you’re in the mood for, get a recap of the previous season of a particular show, or ask how a show has been reviewed to find out if it’s worth watching.
The examples Google provided with the announcement of the update also reveal that you’ll be able to be quite vague and conversational and still be assisted by Gemini.
For instance, you could ask, “Find me something to watch with my wife. I like dramas, but she likes lighthearted comedies,” or “What happened in the last season of ‘Outlander’?”, or “What’s the new hospital drama everyone’s talking about?”
Gemini isn’t just for entertainment though, Google is framing its arrival on TVs as a learning and lifestyle tool too.
On the big screen, it can walk a child through a volcano science project, help you whip up a last-minute dessert, or even offer YouTube tutorials for picking up a new skill like guitar. All of this can be done with natural follow-up questions, so it feels more like chatting with a knowledgeable friend than a stiff assistant.
TCL’s QM9K is the first TV to launch with Gemini and also comes with a presence sensor that can turn the TV into a Nest Hub-style info panel when you walk into the room, showing weather, calendar events, and camera feeds.
Gemini will also, later this year, make its way to the Google TV Streamer, Walmart Onn 4K Pro, Hisense’s 2025 U7, U8, and UX models, and TCL’s QM7K, QM8K and X11K sets.
With over 300 million devices running Google TV or Android TV OS already out there, this rollout could mark the moment when voice control on the big screen finally feels worth using.
It also comes hot on the heels of the announcement of Gemini for Home – a full-on replacement for Google Assistant on Nest speakers and displays, with an early access rollout starting in October and a hardware event slated for October 1st.
Gemini for Home essentially kills the Google Assistant and will bring more natural language controls, smarter routines, and proactive automation suggestions across your smart home, from summarizing what your security cameras spotted while you were away, to piecing together a lunch recipe based on ingredients in your refrigerator.