The Google TV app is rolling out a new update on Android that delivers a Material 3 Expressive redesign that also causes some problems for the phone-based remote.
Live in version 4.39 of the Google TV app for Android, the Material 3 Expressive redesign brings a fresh coat of paint to the app, as well as an entirely new page.
The “Highlights” tab that contains new releases, web articles, and more, has been swapped with “Hot & New,” page that instead solely shows new releases. The new design features auto-playing (silent) clips, summaries, and prominent buttons for “Add to watchlist” and “Share” buttons.
The “For You” tab remains overall similar, but with some more Material You colors, including on the search button. Pages for movies and shows also pick up a lot of added color to match the art from the actual content as well. The new phone remote for Google TV has also been updated, now acting as a full page rather than a sliding pane.
The remote, notably, is partially broken in this release.
The long-press gesture on the “select” button on longer works, preventing access to some menus in apps like YouTube. Some users noticed this earlier today, and we’ve also been able to confirm that it worked in prior versions, but does not in the latest release. Hopefully, that’s a bug Google will fix quickly.
The Material 3 Expressive redesign of Google TV is just the latest in a long line of recent revamps, with Google Clock, Pixel Recorder, Calculator, Keep, and many others recently being updated.
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