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Here’s how to get Google Assistant on your Android TV device now

Google Assistant finally started its rollout to Android TV last week, but so far, it’s only come to one device — the Nvidia Shield TV. The Assistant will eventually expand to the rest of the market, but in the meantime, here’s how you can sideload it.

First discovered by Android Police, the latest version of the Google app for Android TV jumpstarts Assistant functionality on the platform, at least for compatible devices.

For now, this only works on ARM-based Android TV devices, so that includes the Xiaomi Mi Box and some TVs with the OS built in, like some from Sony and LeEco. Also keep in mind that it doesn’t work perfectly just yet.

To get this going, simply sideload version 3.0 of the Google app for Android TV on your device, give it a quick reboot, and you should be good to go. Stability is going to depend on the device you’re testing with, but some users are reporting success on Sony Bravia TVs and the Mi Box. Of course, a firmware update is going to be required on any of these devices to get things working 100%. We’re also hearing from LeEco owners that the sideloaded version is working.

If you’re interested in giving this a shot for yourself, the APK is available now for download from APKMirror.

Thanks Andrew!


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