Google TV's new Gemini features range from useful to unnecessary I checked out a preview of the new features during CES 2026. I met up with a few people from Google at the Encore Villas during CES (which is just 2,500 feet from my hotel but took 28 minutes to walk to, thanks to Vegas's pedestrian-averse design [also I got lost]). Once there, I saw what " more Gemini " will mean for people with a Google TV. The AI integration ranged from useful to probably unnecessary. The most useful bit, for me at least, came at the end.

The AI assistant will also be able to adjust TV settings and create slideshows as part of the new update. Google is working even more Gemini features into Google TV at CES 2026. The company demoed how the AI assistant would work on its TV platform at last year's show, and this time, it's expanding the AI's features to make it easier to do things like adjust your TV's settings or edit photos. The ability to view photos stored in Google Photos has long been a feature of Google TV, but as part of this new update, Gemini will be able to do a lot more with them, too. Google says Gemini will be able to search your Google Photos library for specific people and moments, and remix those photos into different styles or compile them into a custom slideshow.

We've searched through thousands of TV deals on Black Friday and narrowed it down to the best deals worth your time and money. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. It's tradition to grab a giant TV for a low price on Black Friday. We pulled best discounts from Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy with an eye toward models that will actually make your living room look and feel better--not just whatever is cheapest. Below you'll find our Editor's Picks, followed by a big categorized list so you can quickly jump to the size and price range that makes sense for your home theater setup.

Plus: Withings collabs with Clue to offer advanced women's cycle tracking, there's a new Balmuda toaster, and Shokz shows off Dolby Audio-powered open earbuds. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. Thinner, smaller gadgets are usually harder to repair due to their constrained space, but surprise, surprise, Apple's 5.6 mm-thin iPhone Air has earned a respectable 7/10 repair score from iFixit . A key factor in this was Apple relocating the logic board to create more space for the battery, making it easier to access.

If you're after a crazy-bright TV, Hisense's U8 series has you covered. In the past few years, each new U8 model has ramped up the juice considerably, with the U8QG offering another powerful upgrade over last year's U8N (8/10, WIRED Recommends). Considering I freely referred to the U8N with words like "nuclear" and "weapons-grade," that's saying something. Of course, while TV brightness is key for bolstering colors and hitting the hottest HDR (high dynamic range) highlights, brighter doesn't always mean better. The 65-inch U8QG review model I tested has some knocks against it, including some odd color inaccuracies in SDR (standard dynamic range), a more convoluted setup process than usual, and maybe most notable, just three HDMI ports instead of the four you'll get with last year's model (and virtually all rivals).

March Madness season means it's time to upgrade your TV setup. Watching March Madness games is one of the highlights of basketball season, but if you don't have a great TV setup, you're not truly experiencing the games as much as you could. A better setup for March Madness means you can watch the games more clearly and hear everything the coaches, fans, players and refs are yelling. A new TV with crystal-clear picture and sound is a must. Or, you can upgrade the TV you currently have with a new soundbar system and a streaming device like Roku Sticks, Apple TV or an Amazon Fire Stick.

An external streaming device is the best way to access online video services without replacing your entire TV. By plugging one of these devices into your TV's HDMI port, you'll be able to use apps like Netflix and Hulu, possibly with a faster and smoother experience than your TV's built-in software. But between Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, and Apple TV, picking a streaming device can be overwhelming. We've reviewed them all and have come up with a list of recommendations for every need and budget. As TechHive's resident cord-cutting expert, I've reviewed practically every streaming device that's come out over the past decade, and I've been a cord-cutter myself since 2008.

If you watch movies and TV on a 1080p screen, the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) provides a rock-solid streaming experience on the cheap. This is the HD version of Engadget's top choice for streaming devices. Today, Amazon has it for 10 off, letting you pick up the HDR10-capable streaming stick for only 20, nearly a record-low price. If you have a 4K television, you're better off with the more expensive model designed for higher-res displays. But for HD screens, this model is hard to beat. It offers the same terrific user experience as the high-end model, only less expensive and downscaled for 1080p.

Google is expanding its smart home integration at CES 2024. The company said Tuesday that, in the future, LG TVs and some Google TV (and other Android TV) products will work as Google Home hubs. Considering Google's support for the Matter smart home standard, the move could make it easier for customers to set up and control their smart homes without buying a Nest device. "In the future, LG TVs and select Google TV and other Android TV OS devices will act as hubs for Google Home," Google Android VP Sameer Samat wrote in today's announcement blog post. "So if you have a Nest Hub, Nest Mini or compatible TV, it's easy to add Matter devices to your home network and locally control them with the Google Home app."

With great power comes great responsibility. That's just one of the lessons I learned from Spider-Man over the years, or, in this case, his various uncle Bens. I think any Ben Parker would be proud of Hisense's latest model in the U8 TV series, the U8K (65U8K), which leverages its powerful mini-LED backlighting system for nuclear-level brightness alongside responsibly tempered local dimming control for excellent contrast and black levels. The result is dazzling, flagship-like performance at a mid-tier price. Like its predecessor, the U8H (8/10, WIRED Recommends), the U8K also sports an intuitive, if slightly sluggish, Google TV interface for simplified navigation, and offers quick setup and a relatively stylish design.