Google TV Gains Google Photos Support And New Gemini Features

Google on Monday announced a few new features for Google TV, including support for the Google Photos app and additional Gemini features that may enrich your TV watching experience. The new features aren't surprising, considering recent developments. Google has brought Gemini to Google TV last year, as it prepares to replace Google Assistant with Gemini across its devices. The company has also overhauled the Google Photos experience in 2025, adding new AI capabilities to the mobile app and a brand-new video-editing experience. Separately, Samsung announced a few days ago that select Samsung TV models will support the Google Photos app, with at least one feature enjoying a brief exclusivity period.

The new Google TV features unveiled at CES 2026 will be available on select TCL TV models initially, followed by other Google TV devices in the coming months, including projectors. Gemini will offer even more assistant-like capabilities on supported devices, including the ability to handle settings. For example, you may tell the AI that "the screen is too dim," or "the dialogue is lost," and Gemini will increase the brightness and sound levels in response. You won't have to stop watching a movie or TV show to go to the Google TV settings yourself.

Google

Gemini will also be able to answer other questions in the same conversational tone available in the Gemini app on the phone or desktop. You can ask the AI questions about a specific topic related to Google TV content, like similar shows to something you've finished watching. You can ask questions about real-life events, like sports, and request images when appropriate. One of the examples Google offers is asking Gemini to show some of Van Gogh's most famous paintings on the TV.

Some users may appreciate the addition of Google Photos to Google TV even more than the improved Gemini experience. They'll be able to see and edit their photos and videos directly on the TV. Google Photos will offer an Immersive Slideshow feature that will let users turn the TV into a large photo frame that displays specific images from the Google Photos gallery. Users will also be able to use Gemini to start a natural language photo search. A voice command like "Show me photos of my trip to the lake," will have Gemini search Google Photos and display the relevant images.

Google Photos on Google TV will also support AI-editing features. With Remix, users will be able to apply a different style to a photo saved in Google Photos directly on Google TV. Additionally, Google TV will support Google's high-end image and video generation models: Nano Banana and Veo, which can be used to create images and videos with a simple voice command on Google TV.

Google

For Nano Banana, you'll be able to scan a QR code on the TV to upload an image from your phone. Then, you'll issue a voice command, and Nano Banana will deliver the appropriate AI-generated image. The process for turning an image into a video with Veo is similar. Upload an image with a QR code, speak your command, and the AI will offer you a video. In an example Google offered, Veo transformed a photo of a woman with a dog into a video of the dog giving the human a hug. Google TV also informs the user how long the video generation takes, and how many videos they can create.