So you can say “OK Google, show me drama TV shows”, and it will list shows across the various apps, and then you can drill down further by saying “only recent”. There will also deep Google Assistant integration into apps such as Netflix. You can set up a routine so that if you say “OK Google, I’m home”, the Assistant will turn on your lights and adjust the temperature up on your thermostat. Nvidia’s controller has a 60-hour battery life, and by default will always listen for the command “OK, Google”. While we weren’t able to review this feature for launch, we were certainly impressed with what we saw at CES 2017. Given Google Home isn’t even available in the UK at the time of writing, this makes the Shield an attractive device for those who want to add voice control to their smart home. This will essentially turn the Shield into a Google Home device which you can use to control Smart Home devices like Philips Hue lights, Nest thermostats and Samsung SmartThings.
Google Assistant is one feature of Android Nougat that’s not yet available, but Nvidia is working with Google to get it onto Shield TV at some point in the future.
On the apps side, this is also the first Android TV device to support Amazon video, which will be a big deal for Prime subscribers. This adds improvements like multitasking, letting you quickly snap between apps you’ve already opened, and picture-in-picture, so you can continue watching something while accessing the main menu. This is the first Android TV box we’ve seen running Nougat, the latest version of Google’s OS.