Android 4.4 KitKat update could focus on TV, report says

The next version of Android may focus less on smartphone features and more on TV, says a Korean news outlet.

(Credit: Scott Webster/CNET)

Android 4.4 Kitkatcould place added emphasis on connected televisions and not simply smartphones, says Korea's ETNews.

The publication cited sources familiar with the situation, who said that the next version of Android will improve the way that TVs and Android-powered devices work together. The report didn't offer any specifics, but it did mention an enhanced user interface.

Android 4.4 is shaping up to be a minor update with few overall changes to the platform.

Based on the chatter thus far, the next build will mostly center around fine-tuning the UI as opposed to introducing new functionality. Still, Google could very well squeeze some added capabilities into KitKat that we just haven't heard about yet.

Screenshots leaked a few weeks back indicate that Android 4.4 could feature the ability to mirror your Android screen to a television set via the Miracast protocol.

Now factor in the whispers that Google TV is set to be re-branded as Android TV and Chromecast's success, and we start seeing the shape of where Google could go with TV.

Just for the sake of adding fuel to this fire, we might remember that Motorola -- which Google now owns -- has experience in set-top boxes. I personally wonder if that Android-powered TV controller we heard about will find life as a bigger Google product.

Could we see an Android-powered Google DVR or TV companion box down the road? It doesn't sound as foreign today as it might have six months ago. Perhaps Google will get TV right the third time around. Or would this be the fourth?