Google TV for Android getting ‘Highlights’ feed with entertainment news, Material You redesign

Abner Li | Mar 10 2022 - 6:01 am PT

Google TV was a big redesign that replaced the Play Movies & TV app on Android, and it’s now adding a “Highlights” tab that serves as “personalized feed of entertainment news” and getting some Material You flourishes.

The first tab in the Google TV app is now called “Highlights.” It will surface news, reviewers, and other articles from the web related to movies and shows you’re interested in. Stories open in a Chrome Custom Tab that features a share button in the top-right corner. After reading, you can quickly go to the listing for that piece of content to play, rate, or add it to your Watchlist.

Catch up on articles about the entertainment you love, or track the next big sensation, all in one place.

This is basically Google Discover, but just for media. Stories that appear in the feed feature large cover art and smaller carousels of “Related highlights.”

Meanwhile, the “Home” is now called “For you” with the “Top picks for you” and “Continue watching” carousels located here. Shop is next, while “Library” and “Watchlist” look to be incorporated into the new “Your Stuff” tab.

Elsewhere, the Android app now takes advantage of Material You with a taller bottom bar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HztmSwvBu2U

9to5Google’s Take

Google TV’s Highlights feed is actually a pretty good idea for users that want a more focused version of Google Discover that just shows articles related to movies and shows. If the feed is populated based on your existing Google Play library, there’s a good chance it will be highly relevant to your interests and/or favorite actors. Depending on its accuracy, this could very much make the Google TV app more of a destination.