Google ADT-3 Android TV developer hardware tipped for late 2019 release

Ben Schoon | Jul 25 2019 - 11:37 am PT

It’s not all that often that Google releases developer hardware for Android TV, but we might be getting a new option sooner than expected. Apparently, Google is planning on releasing an ADT-3 developer kit for Android TV devs sometime later this year.

@AndroidTV_Rumor on Twitter tweeted out what looks to be an internal document that says ADT-3 is coming for Android TV app developers in Q4 of 2019. The document goes on to say something about an “official Android TV release,” but the details on that are cropped out, presumably to protect a source. Most likely, this is talking about Android Q seeing that the ADT-2 introduced Pie.

It’s been well over a year since Google announced the ADT-2 Android TV dongle for developers, but only a few months since it landed in their hands. To see an ADT-3 device already on its way is surprising, to say the least.

This also brings up the question as to what has changed that requires another piece of developer hardware. Presumably, an ADT-3 Android TV developer device would be in a set-top box form factor, giving developers the ability to experiment with USB inputs or more powerful hardware compared to the somewhat limited ADT-2. Tuner hardware could be another possibility. Recently, one user discovered a device codenamed “archer” in AOSP, and it seems possible that it could be this ADT-3 device. There’s nothing concrete to tie the two together, though.

Of course, whatever the ADT-3 ends up being, it’s highly unlikely that it will ever end up in consumer’s hands, as was the case with previous Android TV developer hardware.