Google ‘s Android TV platform is rising, but it’s set to get another big redesign sometime this year. A leak today outlined Google’s new hardware as well as sharing our first look at the latest Android TV UI that apparently involves integration of YouTube TV on home screen.
The home screen is all we’ve seen about the latest redesign of Android TV, but a handful of screenshots still tell us a lot. The new interface is certainly “content-focused,” as described in an earlier article. Actually, it looks a lot like the redesigned Google Play Store that rolled out to the platform last year.
It has featured front-end content with parts for search, recommendations, movies, TV, apps and your own library listed at the top of the page. There’s also a “Live” button that integrates directly with Google’s YouTube TV service, in another screenshot that Mishaal Rahman posted on Twitter.
On that page, the guide for YouTube TV appears directly on the home screen, rather than inside the service app. Many Android TV makers have tried to create that kind of integration before, but nowhere near as seamless as this. It still seems that accessing recorded content or on-demand options would require the app.
A further screenshot shows the new Google Assistant powered search interface. It covers the entire show, instead of a bottom panel, with your answer, a background image, and other suggestions. Seems pretty slick!
This latest UI is running on Google’s first Android TV dongle as we described in an earlier post. Earlier this year we also announced that the update would be rebranded as “Google TV.”
In our earlier post, the rest of the updated UI is detailed which also includes a feature that pulls smart home security feeds into your TV. This will likely be used with a Nest Hello Video Doorbell.
