The new 7.0 release has a lot of great features. I know the drill - Channels features are always developed for the Apple platform first. But over the past few years, it seems Android has continued to fall further behind. Is there any timeline that can be shared on when/if the 7.0 release can be expected for Android users? Thanks!
Yes 7.0 looks amazing from the screenshots. Well done to the devs for what they've created!
Sadly, I don't use Apple so I too will wait with anticipation, hopeful that we get a similar Android release "soon" (heck, even offline viewing on Android mobile would be great haha).
Not currently a sub, but have tried Channels in the past. The lack of a modern UX for Android held me back. If this was introduced for Android, I'd subscribe.
When it comes to Droid vs. Mac functionality, it's one of the few areas that I struggle with Channels. Not so much that it chases me away, but yes, I feel frustrated at times when I read threads of others who are celebrating all the wonderful things the devs have added to the Mac platform. I'm not looking to start a flaming thread on the devs, I do truly appreciate the work they do. Because of them, I am able to "cobble together" solutions that enables me to have 9 different sport events on one TV at a time (with TiviMate). Unfortunately some of the subscribers don't have the patience or knowledge how to make that happen......and it's in their power to do that for them if they expanded their functionality to the Droid community.
I think it’s safe to say that if you want multiview you are going to have to buy an Apple TV 4K. It’s no secret that android is the red headed step child to the devs. Channels on Android development is light years behind Apples. They did hire an android person awhile back but that didn’t seem to last long.
Years ago I decided to abandon my Shield TVs for ATV4k just because I knew the features I wanted would never come to android. I suggest you do the same, the reality of how channels devs favor Apple is not going to change. For those who refuse to buy Apple thinking they are evil for this or that reason, I would say google is just as bad. It’s just a streaming box.
Ideally the gap wouldn’t be so big and I do understand the frustration but it’s time to admit to yourself what you already know, it’s time to buy an ATV4k if you want current channels dvr features.
I get that idea in theory, but for many people it just isn't feasible. I have 3 TV's, 2 of them running Google TV natively and the 3rd using an Nvidia Shield. I also have an Android phone and an Android tablet. I do this intentionally so that every device I use is on the same ecosystem. It isn't as simple as buying an Apple TV to make the switch. And the reality is, I like Android for everything else. I was ok with getting Android updates later, but the sad part is Channels seems to have gone from an "Apple TV first" approach to an "Apple TV only" approach.
I think the bigger issue with Android is the wide range of devices and versions of Android TV running on them. For example, the Nvidia Shield, as we know, is a powerhouse. It can handle whatever the devs through at it. But for those using a 2019 Onn Android TV stick, that device may be on Android 10 and clearly can't perform like the Shield. It likely can't do multi streams and run the client interface nearly as smooth as the Shield. If the devs push out an update to match the Apple TVs, would those running older clients complain about the app? I think thats really the big concern.
I don't ever see Android even keeping close to the Apple development here. The hardware and software is all over the place. I'm no dev, or even close, but I have enough common sense to see developing for constantly moving goalposts can hardly be profitable.
The Android side of things in hardware and software needs to get their $#*& together.
I literally just had to give up my Shield because no matter what I did, it was buffering with Channels. And it wasn't specifically my Shields or the configuration because I have two Shields and they were both behaving the exact same way. Both on 9.2.2 and both just factory reset.
In that case apps (or operating systems) often have a compatibility check, and only offer the features each device can handle, rather than blocking them out completely. So, for example, Android boxes running Android 13 and greater or whatever would have access to Multiview, but older devices running Android 10 would not.
Agree with @CubsWin. And in terms of the wide range of hardware that Android operates on, that dynamic exists on the server side yet the server side is consistent in it's compatibility for the most part (good luck transcoding on a Synology ARC NAS). The devs put the end user in the position of being able to match the hardware to meet their capability needs on the server side. Why is the client managed differently?
If I saw correctly, for Multi-view, you can set the maximum number of windows within the client (as the user). Give me that control for my Nvidia shield (9 streams) and Google Streaming boxes (3 streams) and I'll self-limit to the capability of the device I use.
It actually is that easy because the ATV is just an STB. I'm all Android as well (including my provider's Android STBs) but my main TV also has an ATV because that's what works best for channels. You don't need an iPhone or any other iOS device to get it set up. It's all in what you want to invest in in addition, has nothing to do really with staying all Android. I do a lot of channels maintenance on Android and when I'm away I watch shows remotely on my Android phone or Fire tablet. But when I'm at home the ATV is the way to go.
Multiview alone is a prime reason to get an ATV if you watch sports.
I use mutli-view on my Nvidia shield using TiviMate. Great experience, only limitation is I am capped at 5 TVs. If I am traveling and bring a spare device with me, I have to logout of one of my other devices and login to that, which isn't fun on a remote control driven virtual keyboard. 1st world problems I know.
The fundamental question is, why do I have to choose an Apple product to get the full feature set (not complaining about early adoption, I get that, but there's several instances where they've never ported over function to Android TV). Do apple uses pay a higher monthly or annual fee than Android for the privilege of additional features? No. Impossible to manage that as you can have a multi-platform environment.
As I said before, I still appreciate CDVR and so long as Emby and/or Jellyfin still have a significant gap in capabilities, I'll continue to use Channels as it's the best overall solution I've found. Just too bad I'm enjoying the 2023 Apple experience for several of the capabilities while actual Apple users are getting the 2025 experience.
Hmm, I tested mine last year and did 9 screens at once. Mind you, they were all Pluto channels, but I was simply curious when it would start to bog down. It ran 9 just fine.
I love my sports, and I've found 2 is enough to keep track of at once, and I found out I'd rather switch back and forth full screen at that. If I were to try more than 3 OTA channels running sports, which I have, it bogs down that end of my LAN (where the antenna 0s and 1s come in) once I start the 4th game.
Yea, old school with an older 1gig LAN. Suits me fine though.