Android 12 for TV

Latest Update: The final release of Android 12 for TV is now available.

With the official release of Android 12, we are also making the most recent platform release available for TV. Take this opportunity to start building and testing your apps to make them compatible with the latest Android release on the new Google TV experience. Alternatively, the build images for the standard Android TV experience are also available for download.

We've added more customizations to Android 12 to improve the experience and compatibility on TV devices. Some of the highlights for TV are media playback improvements, more refined user interface capabilities, and privacy and security enhancements. In addition, we're introducing better standards to support and improve HDMI and tuners.

Here's an overview of what's new in Android 12 for TV:

Media

  • Avoid motion judder during playback using refresh rate switching
  • Certified API accuracy for reporting display modes, HDR formats, and surround sound formats

User interface

Privacy and security

HDMI and tuner

Refer to the Android 12 documentation for a full list of the changes included in Android 12. Note that not all features apply to TV.

Download the system images for the ADT-3 Developer Kit to get started. Alternatively, you can use the Android Emulator for TV, which lets you try some of the new user interface capabilities like background blurs and 4K UI support.

How to get started

If you have an existing ADT-3 developer device, the device will automatically receive an OTA to Android 12. Alternatively, you can install Android 12 by following these steps:

  1. Use the ADT-3 Developer Kit for Android TV. The provided system image is for ADT-3 developer devices only.
  2. Download the system image.
  3. Install the system image on your ADT-3 device.

Install system images manually

You can download the latest Android 12 system image and manually flash it to your test device. Manually flashing a device gives you precise control over the test environment and can be performed with command line tools.

After you back up your device data, download one of the following ADT-3 builds and then flash the image onto your device.

ADT-3 factory images

Device Download Link SHA-256 Checksum
ADT-3 (Android TV) 9310b47c79570cb5a9916ac4f7fe383c62242afea64a2d389aa27ea4f9555a35
ADT-3 (Google TV) 91f7efe7cccfc507a80366c0edb32991df931620ecfc7d2aa765e7b233dc01f1

Download ADT-3 factory system image

Before downloading, you must agree to the following terms and conditions.

Terms and Conditions

By clicking to accept, you hereby agree to the following: All use of this development version SDK will be governed by the Android Software Development Kit License Agreement (available at https://developer.android.com/studio/terms and such URL may be updated or changed by Google from time to time), which will terminate when Google issues a final release version. Your testing and feedback are important part of the development process and by using the SDK, you acknowledge that (i) implementation of some features are still under development, (ii) you should not rely on the SDK having the full functionality of a stable release; (iii) you agree not to publicly distribute or ship any application using this SDK as this SDK will no longer be supported after the official Android SDK is released; and (iv) you agree that Google may deliver elements of the SDK to your devices via auto-update (OTA or otherwise, in each case as determined by Google). WITHOUT LIMITING SECTION 10 OF THE ANDROID SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT LICENSE AGREEMENT, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT A DEVELOPMENT VERSION OF A SDK IS NOT A STABLE RELEASE AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS, DEFECTS AND SECURITY VULNERABILITIES THAT CAN RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE, INCLUDING THE COMPLETE, IRRECOVERABLE LOSS OF USE OF YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR OTHER DEVICE.
Download ADT-3 factory system image

adt3-stt1.211025.001.z4-factory-9310b47c.zip

Download ADT-3 factory system image

Before downloading, you must agree to the following terms and conditions.

Terms and Conditions

By clicking to accept, you hereby agree to the following: All use of this development version SDK will be governed by the Android Software Development Kit License Agreement (available at https://developer.android.com/studio/terms and such URL may be updated or changed by Google from time to time), which will terminate when Google issues a final release version. Your testing and feedback are important part of the development process and by using the SDK, you acknowledge that (i) implementation of some features are still under development, (ii) you should not rely on the SDK having the full functionality of a stable release; (iii) you agree not to publicly distribute or ship any application using this SDK as this SDK will no longer be supported after the official Android SDK is released; and (iv) you agree that Google may deliver elements of the SDK to your devices via auto-update (OTA or otherwise, in each case as determined by Google). WITHOUT LIMITING SECTION 10 OF THE ANDROID SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT LICENSE AGREEMENT, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT A DEVELOPMENT VERSION OF A SDK IS NOT A STABLE RELEASE AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS, DEFECTS AND SECURITY VULNERABILITIES THAT CAN RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE, INCLUDING THE COMPLETE, IRRECOVERABLE LOSS OF USE OF YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR OTHER DEVICE.
Download ADT-3 factory system image

adt3_gtv-stt1.211025.001.z3-factory-91f7efe7.zip