While competitors such as Sony and Philips have chosen Google and their Android T, Panasonic has faithfully opted for its own smart TV platform. The original Firefox-based system MyHomeScreen has been a natural companion to Panasonic TVs for many years. But now things are changing!
Panasonic has already launched its first TV with Android in some markets, and soon the new HX700 series will arrive in europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or11fiukEXI
HX700: First Panasonic TV with Android
Panasonic likes to have full control over the TV experience from A to Z, and our experience from recent tests of the HZ1000 and HZ2000 (which by the way has extremely good picture quality) is that their MyHomeScreen user interface works excellently in daily life. At the same time, there is a lack of it on the app front, where, for example, highly current streaming services such as Disney + shine with their absence.
Keeping the system up to date at all times is undoubtedly resource-intensive, and many have probably wondered when Panasonic would fall for Google and their Android temptations?
That said, so be it: With the introduction of the new HX700 series with Android 9.0, Panasonic will have access to Google’s wide universe of apps and services, including regular updates.
The purchase also includes a built-in Chromecast, which makes it easier to control the TV and share content via mobile. The remote control should be Bluetooth-based and have a built-in microphone for Google Assistant.
On the image side, the HX700 series are relatively ordinary 4K LCD screens with LED edge lighting, but they excel, among other things, with support for the Dolby Vision HDR format, which ensures that a lot of modern video content can be viewed from its best side.
This will be the first Panasonic TV with Android, and so far the only one. This year’s other models will continue to use MyHomeScreen. Panasonic has not announced that they will shelve their own platform. But the introduction of Android on the HX700 can at least be interpreted as “dipping your toe” in Google’s waters. Maybe we will see more Panasonic models with Android in 2021?
As we can see in the video below, the Panasonic HX700 has already landed in India!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOjc_sqrTKM