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| TCL Google TV faces many complaints |
Best Buy has abruptly removed TCL's Google TV from its list of stores. The Chinese company guarantees to solve problems.
At the end of the summer, TCL released an updated version of the flagship 6 series.
Aside from some technical improvements — the latest lineup of products fully support HDMI 2.1 gaming and 4K resolution at 120Hz refresh rate — the biggest change is the software.
These devices are supported by the Google TV Smart TV platform rather than the Roku operating system that many TCL devices provide.
The company has launched Android TV based TVs internationally. But the 6 Series is expected in 2021 to be a co-product of TCL hardware and Google software.
Some early buyers of the Series 6 (model R646) using Google TV complained about what they saw as a slow and problematic user interface.
Users will experience a general slowdown when entering the Settings menu. There may also be a delay before the TV responds to commands from the remote control.
The app also crashes and in some cases the TV stops responding. Some reviews have reported additional issues that require disconnecting the TV.
Similar criticism has been leveled at Google TV Series 5. TCL has released several software updates designed to improve performance and stability.
"Our top priority is to provide an improved user experience for Google TV and to plan a series of software updates for TCL devices," a company spokesperson said in late November.
TCL is taking measures to evaluate next steps for Google TVs
Some of these updates seem to have a positive effect. The company said in a new statement that customers will see significant improvements in the coming weeks.
But as of this week, Best Buy has removed these two models from its store list. The Chinese company's website has a Best Buy link that is no longer valid.
TCL stresses that it is aware that some people are experiencing UI stability issues. However, the company expects these TVs to be available again in the coming weeks.
Although TCL is interested in Android TV. But Google TV beta is a new area for the company. She seems to be going through a difficult period at this early stage.