Google is pushing a fresh batch of Gemini features into Google TV, turning the living-room screen into a playground for generative AI and short-form video. According to TechCrunch AI, the rollout starts on Gemini-enabled TCL TVs in the U.S., with broader device support coming later. Two of Google’s flagship generative models, Nano Banana and Veo, are now front and center inside a new Gemini tab.
This is significant because it marks one of the first big moves to put image and video generation on the TV itself, not just a phone or laptop. Google is framing the experience around shared family moments, where everyone in the room can shout prompts at the screen.
What’s launching
- A new “Create” button inside the Gemini tab. This is the entry point for the generative AI tools. From here, users can fire up Nano Banana or Veo without hunting through menus.
- Nano Banana for image generation and editing. Google’s image model lets viewers transform photos using voice prompts. Swap outfits, change backgrounds, or build entirely new scenes. TechCrunch AI notes Google is leaning hard into playful family use cases, with example prompts like asking the AI to make “my dad wear a ridiculous outfit.”
- Veo for video generation. Veo handles clip creation from scratch and can animate still images based on a description. The example Google gave: “make my grandfather moonwalk in space.” Short, weird, shareable.
- Gemini-powered Google Photos search. Users can surface specific memories like vacations or birthday parties using natural language, instead of scrolling through years of camera roll. Results render in a browsable layout that supports full-screen viewing and slideshow launch.
- Remix for Google Photos. A style-transfer feature that applies artistic treatments like watercolor or oil painting to existing photos.
- Dynamic Slideshows. Animated layouts, frames, and color treatments turn any Google Photos collection into a TV-ready slideshow. You activate it by picking Google Photos in the screensaver settings.
- A “Short videos for you” row on the home screen. YouTube Shorts get a dedicated feed surfacing right at the top of Google TV. Google has hinted this row could expand to other short-form platforms later.
Why this matters
What stands out here is the social framing. Most generative AI tools live on personal devices, used alone. Google is betting the TV is the right place for collaborative, low-stakes AI experiments where the output is a laugh in the living room rather than a polished asset. That’s a different product thesis than ChatGPT or Midjourney.
The Google Photos integration is the more practical play. Anyone with a decade of photos buried in their library knows how painful it is to find the one trip from 2019. Voice search on a TV solves a real problem for users who don’t want to fish out their phone during family time.
The Shorts question
The short-form video row is a more curious move. As TechCrunch AI points out, YouTube recently added an option to hide Shorts on mobile, which suggests user demand for the format is mixed. Pushing Shorts to the TV home screen is a bet that the lean-back environment changes how people consume vertical video. Instagram already brought its TV app to Google TV devices in the U.S. earlier this year, so the short-form-on-the-big-screen pattern is becoming a category, not a one-off.
Availability
The Gemini Create features start on Gemini-enabled TCL TVs in the U.S. Google says broader device support is coming, but didn’t pin a date. The Google Photos upgrades and the Shorts row are slated to roll out across Google TV more widely.
No pricing details were called out, which suggests the features ride on top of existing Google TV and Gemini access rather than living behind a new paywall.
For full details and Google’s product imagery, head to the original report at TechCrunch AI.