Google TV offers a widget on Android, but what for?

The Google TV application for Android will offer users a handy widget to access certain features more quickly… but probably also display recommendations for content to watch.

The Google TV app on Android continues to evolve. A few weeks ago, it benefited from a new design allowing it to better integrate with the Material You interface adopted by the mobile operating system since Android 12. And as spotted 9To5Googlethe app will soon offer a widget.

Traces of this feature have been discovered in Google TV version 4.38.7.4, which appears in the list of widgets. At the moment the widget is not ready and should be deployed in a future update, but we already know that it should adopt a default size of 4×5 on the home screen, which is rather bulky.

An imposing but complete widget

The widget has a search bar. Pressing the magnifying glass icon opens the smartphone’s virtual keyboard, which allows you to search for specific content. A remote control icon is also displayed. It refers to the tool for navigating through the smartphone in the Google TV interface on television, similar to what the Shield TV app offers for the NVIDIA TV box of the same name. Pressing the Google TV logo in the center simply opens the Home tab of the app.

Given the 4×5 space required for the insertion of the widget, it is likely that the final version of it will incorporate other functionalities. In particular, we can think that content will be highlighted by the widget via a system of recommendations, as the Netflix application widget already does for example.

Google TV shouldn’t be the only Google App to get new widgets. The Contacts and Google applications should also benefit from a widget each. These have already been spotted and are functional on Pixel 7 Pro running the Android 13 QPR2 beta. They do not currently work on other smartphones.

Source: 9To5Google