Most of thestreaming boxesand smart TVs in the Android ecosystem are running Google TV these days, but Android TV is still alive and kicking — in fact,Google TVis more like an OEM skin on top of Android TV, akin to Samsung’s One UI 6.1 running on itsAndroid 14code base. Still, Google seems intent on blurring the lines between its TV UIs, with Android TV devices like the Nvidia Shield TV now sporting a home screen layout you might think was pulled straight from the Chromecast with Google TV at first glance. Now, the Android TV launcher is set to get evenGooglier.
What’s the difference between Google TV and Android TV?
The lowdown on Google’s two TV platforms
In a post on the Android TV help forums,Google announcedthat a new quick-access row is rolling out to users in the US starting today. It sits right under the Favorite Apps row and has shortcuts to other areas of the home screen, in addition to a Trending On Google link. The company says these changes will take up to a few weeks to roll out to all users.
From the looks of things, there’s a lot of redundancy here. Play Next most likely takes you tothe home screen feature of the same name, and both Top Selling Movies and Popular Movies & Shows presumably link to a section in the new Shop tab, whichreplaced Play Movies & TV on Android TVa few months back. Perhaps the most redundant of them all, however, is the Free Live TV button, which seems like it will open the Live tab even though this featurewas just given a second shortcut in the apps row.
Android TV is aggressively promoting Google’s free streaming channels
Your favorites row has now been invaded by ads
For fans of the old Android TV Leanback Launcher’s simple design, updates like these, while functional on some level, mark a continued push toward thead-laden Google TV UI. And with Android Police founderArtem Russakovskii having seen (and heard)home screen ads complete with audio on Google TV just last week, we’re not incredibly optimistic about what the future could hold for Android TV.
