Google’s software roadmap for smart displays is currently disorganized. The majority of Nest Hub devices use a modified version of the Chromecast software (prior to the Google TV redesign), the original Nest Hub runs Fuchsia OS, while third-party displays with Google Assistant run Android Things OS.
Based on the new features in the first two Developer Previews, Google may be attempting to integrate all of those platforms under the banner of Android 13.
Smart displays powered by Android 13 might be in the works
9to5 Google said on Thursday that it is developing a new Nest Hub smart display with a detachable tablet mode, as opposed to a display that must always be hooked into the wall. That’s not a far-fetched notion, considering that there have been previous efforts at the concept (such as Lenovo’s Smart Tab M10), and Esper’s Mishaal Rahman has pointed out that some of the modifications in Android 13 may be leveraged for such a device.
Many of the features that have already appeared in Android 13 might be useful for smart displays. Information overlays for screen savers would work similarly to the present Nest Hub’s Ambient Mode, additional user profile features might be useful in households with more than one individual, and so on. A ‘hub mode’ is also in the works, which might enhance how applications share data between profiles.
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Perhaps the strongest example for the Nest-Hub-with-Android idea is a new SensorPrivacyManager API function included in Android 12 that allows apps to check if microphone or camera access is turned off. Google is working on a SensorPrivacyManager update for Android 13 that will verify the state of hardware toggles for the camera and microphone, which are absent on most Android devices but present on every Nest Hub device.
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As shown above, there’s also a new “low light clock” in the code for Android 13, which appears when a smartphone is docked and the ambient brightness is low. That’s very much the same as the clock on Nest Hub devices.
We won’t know for sure if Google is working on an Android-powered smart display until it’s unveiled, but given 9to5Google’s report and all of the new software functions in Android 13, everything is falling into place. Nonetheless, Google may be developing similar enhancements for third-party smart displays using Google Assistant rather than a ‘Made by Google’ product.
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