We really love theGoogle TV platformfor all that it brings to the table, with the platform receiving aperformance upgrade back in December, bringing faster load times and other enhancements. Google is now announcing a visual overhaul for Google TV with a couple of visual changes and minor tweaks to existing functionality.
How to use Google TV
How to use Google’s version of Plex
Google TV has been prepping this redesign of icons in theYour appssection for a while now. Back in November, Googlerevealedhow developers would need to make changes to their icons for Google TV apps. Android expert and AP contributor Mishaal Rahman’sposton X explained this new requirement in great detail back then.
The circular app icons provide a new look to the Google TV home screen, which currently features chunky rectangular boxes/icons for each app in the Your apps row. This new design also saves plenty of space, with Google saying it has increased the number of apps in the Your apps section, while also addingreorderandadd appsbuttons for additional customization of the horizontal row. In its current form, scrolling to the end of the Your apps row offers aSee alloption, which opens a page showing all the apps installed on the Google TV product.
Here’s what the Your apps row looks like right now
Lastly, Google is also adding a shortcut to free TV channels right within the Your apps row. We saw free TV Channelsappearing on Android TVa couple of months ago, so it was only a matter of time before they popped up on Google TV as well. You will be able to watch “everything from local news to movies to sports” at no cost, Google says in theannouncement.
While a bulk of these changes should appear over the next few days, some features, such as free TV channels, are limited to the US. Germany supports live TV, too, but in a limited capacity. Google’ssupport pageprovides an extensive list of all the free TV channels you can access in the US. The redesigned home screen isn’t currently live on myChromecast with Google TV, though Google says these changes will make it to “all devices over the next few months,” so we may be in for a bit of a wait here.
