Google TV is currently rolling out a new option for “Call notifications,” which lets select apps send calls to your TV.
On the latest updates for Google TV devices, Google Meet is able to trigger an underlying option for “Call notifications.” This opens up a new section of the Settings app, which lets you toggle on and off the ability for apps to deliver call notifications.
When opening Google Meet, a notification appears saying that call notifications have been enabled. In the Settings, Meet shows up as one app that can use the new permission, but it’s presumably not the only one. We’d guess that Zoom for Android TV OS, currently exclusive to Sony Bravia, would also work with this.
Google TV briefly explains via the Settings app:
So, by Google’s description, this is an all-or-nothing setting unless apps offer granular settings for incoming calls per device. Though, notably, you can turn off app notifications on an app-by-app basis on Google TV through the Settings menu.
We were able to activate call notifications both on Chromecast with Google TV 4K as well as a Hisense TV with Google TV, both on their respective latest updates. That strongly suggests that this is something baked into the Google Meet app and/or a server-side change on Google TV itself. Mishaal Rahman notes on Twitter/X that the feature showed up back in June on the Android TV OS 14 beta, but it only went live recently.
However, the actual functionality itself is not let live. When making an actual call with Meet, our Chromecast didn’t show any signs of the incoming call despite the permission being enabled. That will presumably change in the future, but for now, nothing is fully operable.
You can see the permission menu and notifications in the gallery below (swipe to see more). Once enabled, the new settings appear under Settings > Accounts & sign-in > Account > Call notifications. It’s turned on by default when you first enable it with Google Meet.
More on Google TV:
Google TV is adding a faster way to switch to and from Bluetooth headphones
Fast Pair rolling out to Chromecast with Google TV next month
TCL is bringing its 115-inch TV to North America
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