Thanks for the Google TV update that puts the ‘Free’, ‘Buy’ tab on the main screen
What you need to know
- Google TV is reportedly making a small change to its home screen that brings two tabs front and center: “Free” and “Purchase.”
- A user with the new Google TV Streamer noticed the new tabs, saying that their other two devices are still blank.
- Google TV has the latest update this week, which brought small QoL tweaks to its system to help the user experience.
It looks like Google TV isn’t done updating its program with small, meaningful updates, as users are reporting another one later this week.
This week, on the Google TV subreddit, one user noticed a change to his home screen when he launched it (via 9to5Google). The user says in his post that his latest Google TV Streamer showed two new tabs on his home screen: “Free” and “Purchase.” According to their post, this home screen change is not available for previously purchased TV Streamers, only the newest ones.
In his photos, the user shows that the “Free” and “Purchase” tabs are placed between the existing Live and Apps home screen options.
Other users have chimed in, with one user reporting from TCL that they found these new “Free” and “Purchase” tabs on their set with Google TV built-in. But, they said that the new home screen options are not available on their Chromecast with Google TV. Another user with TCL reports similar additions.
Through their images, the user shows the content that users will see on each tab. In the “Free” tab, users will see free streaming content, available anytime, like Tubi. The “Buy” tab appears to allow users to buy or rent movies and other content, and its price is displayed next to the Rotten Tomatoes rating.
This update may be rolling out to users this week, but it seems to be slow, as not everyone has seen it yet.
Relax, watch something
This new home screen Google TV player was first released last September. Originally launched as an experiment, the company has reworked the old and outdated home screen with an updated navigation bar that includes a Search function. Google has also moved other options, such as users’ “Library” and “watchlist,” which are now included in their profile icon.
Google TV received an update earlier this week, which included minor QoL tweaks. Users will get a new “report history” section, so users can see how their reports are coming. Google says it has fixed the YouTube icon appearance bug that users were experiencing on the home screen.
Android Central Take
Live TV, especially in terms of streaming, is almost as important as seeing it front and center. It’s easy to know the “normal,” paid content you want and skip to it, but there are plenty of free options, too. I often jump into the free TV section of the Roku stick, just to catch a show I’ve been missing. It’s small updates like Google’s that are incredibly worthwhile—from a user perspective, of course.
