Google has begun rolling out a major update internationally to Android TV, its operating system for connected TVs, which radically changes the user interface, making it much more similar to that of Google TV, the platform launched last year on Chromecast with Google TV and set to take the place of Android TV on TVs starting this year (as previously announced by Sony and TCL).
As reported by The Verge (with which Google shared the attached images), the new interface updates the look of Android TV making it just like that of Google TV. Beware that only the graphics change, so after the update, you don’t find all the features available on the Google TV platform. The main difference is the absence of the ‘For You’ tab in the updated Android TV interface, which is on the Google TV platform instead. In ‘For You’ Google TV brings together movies, shows, live TV, and more from supported apps and subscription services and organizes them automatically for you. On the ‘Home’ screen, on the other hand, you simply find featured content from installed applications – just like Android TV did before,
The updated Android TV interface features the main menu, positioned on the top row, with ‘Search’, ‘Home’, ‘Discover’, and ‘Apps’ buttons on the left side, while ‘Settings’ on the right side, together with the current time. All content is navigated through horizontally scrolling tabs, with each row no longer represented by an identifying icon on the left. Between the menu and the horizontal lines there is a carousel that highlights the main contents, complete with an image in the background, at the top of the screen.
This update to the Android TV interface is very reminiscent of that of Fire TV, which Amazon introduced at the end of last year.
The Android TV user interface update to a more Google TV-like design has begun in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, and France on devices running the Android TV operating system, according to The Verge. Later it should also arrive in other countries. We don’t know if this is a server-side update or if a firmware update is needed from the device manufacturer.
It cannot be excluded that this user interface update could be transitory, an anticipation of the actual update to Google TV for devices that could support the new platform from the point of view of hardware power. On this, however, we have no official information. Even if Android TV remained with this graphic update, users should be satisfied: the change is radical compared to the previous graphic.