JBL this week announced the first TV soundbar to offer an Android TV experience, complete with Google Assistant support.

“With Android TV now available on soundbars, you can turn your TV into a smart TV,” Google’s Matt Crowley noted. “In addition, Android TV soundbars come with Chromecast built-in. This allows you to instantly stream, cast and view additional content, such as movies, shows, videos and photos from your phone on the big screen for everyone to enjoy.”

“The JBL Link Bar gives consumers an intuitive way to enjoy an amazing viewing experience, along with powerful, rich sound,” Harman president Dave Rogers said in a prepared statement (Harman owns the JBL brand). “We believe in having technology seamlessly integrate with your life, and the Link Bar is a natural progression of that philosophy.”

The JBL Link Bar is exactly what it sounds like: It’s an all-on soundbar—OK, you can add an optional subwoofer as well—that provides Android TV, Google Assistant, and Chromecast capabilities via a one-cable connection to a TV. It also provides three HDMI inputs for adding additional devices, plus an HDMI ARC output.

The JBL Link Bar costs $400. The optional subwoofer is $300. Both are available at JBL.com and at retail.

Tagged with Android TV, Chromecast, Google Assistant