Good luck getting updated to Android 13. CCwGTV is still on 10.
Development hell? I thought the issue is patents, which given the format is from ~2007 should be expiring soon.
TLDR: This doesn't apply to all android devices. exFAT is owned by Microsoft and a lot of Android device manufacturers got a paid license to use the standard. Google did not pay that license.
In 2019 Microsoft made the standard public. Google was able to put it in stock android. They tried to do it on Android 12, but made a mistake. They fixed that and added it to Android 13 beta. The fix might still come to Android 12.
I have been using an exFAT drive with my (non-Google) android phones and TV for years.
Sidenote: Hoping they release a new google tv stick (not just the HD version that's coming out soon)
Android tv 13 seems a far future, with most devices still abandoned on Android 9 or 10
Android 12 is still a mystery, now 13?