What you need to know
- TCL has temporarily stopped selling its Google TV lineup over performance and software issues.
- The company is working on "refining" its products featuring Google TV.
- TCL Google TVs are expected to return to Best Buy in the coming weeks.
In what comes as a big blow to Google's smart TV platform, TCL has stopped selling its lineup of Google TVs over certain "performance-related issues." Best Buy, which is the exclusive retailer of TCL Google TVs in the U.S., pulled all listings of the company's 2021 5-Series and 6-Series TVs from its website earlier this week.
Confirming that the TVs have been removed from sale, a TCL spokesperson told 9to5Google that the company will soon roll out software updates to "refine" the Google TV experience on the sets. The company has also confirmed that sales of the TVs will resume "in the coming weeks."
Our high-performance TVs are constantly evolving and recent software updates have allowed us to make significant progress, but we are continuing to refine our products featuring Google TV. Our customers will see marked improvements in the weeks to come and their patience is appreciated.
TCL had unveiled its refreshed 6-series lineup with Google TV in August to challenge the best smart TVs. Since the TVs have gone on sale, several buyers have complained about a slow UI and random app crashes. TCL is currently the only major smart TV maker besides Sony to offer Google TV sets.
To check if a software update is available for your TCL Google TV, press the Settings button on the remote control. Next, select the Settings option in the panel that will appear on the right side of the screen and head over to System > About > System update. Select and Network Update option in the next dialog. In case an update is available, your TV will now begin downloading the update.
TCL's 3-Series and 4-Series TVs, which run Android TV, are still on sale at Best Buy.
