The Google TV app, which brings together content recommendations from many real-time streaming services and lets you create a universal playlist of your favorites, is now available on iOS. Google says it will replace the previous Google Play Movies and TV app in the App Store, so if you already have it installed, you should be able to upgrade to the Google TV experience at some point.
The software, now available on Android, also allows you to rate what you’ve seen above to improve future recommendations. The most important thing for owners of Android TV or Chromecast with Google TV is that you can use the Google TV app as a remote control for these devices by tapping the remote control icon.
Not all major real-time streaming services allow content to be included in Google TV’s aggregate playlists: Netflix is the big stop. The company dropped Google TV integration shortly after the launch of the 2020 Chromecast, and since then Google has been unable to put Netflix back.
In addition to your entertainment carousels, the Google TV app will also include your Google rental and shopping library. (If you have Movies Anywhere set up, this is another way to stream this content.) All of this is accessible from the “Your stuff” tab. Google says the “Highlights” tab keeps you “up to date with a personalized daily feed of news, reviews, and more about your favorite entertainment.”
Google TV is still one of my favorite browsing interfaces for what is available in any of the services you subscribe to. Google recently added individual user profiles to the experience, allowing everyone in your home to have their own custom options and home screen. The company has also hinted that it has fitness features in the works for its TV platform.