Google TV users frustrated with unwelcome addition to refreshed interface

Summary

Google TV’s latest update includes some of the Material 3 Expressive design changes.
Some of the design changes include a larger banner at the top of detail pages, centered names for shows and movies, and flatter buttons.
What’s angering some Google TV users isn’t the Material 3 Expressive changes, but a massive new homescreen ad.

At its Android Show: I/O Edition in May, Google announced a redesign of its Android operating system, called Material 3 Expressive. The redesign aims to make your device “feel unique to you,” with new customization options, animations, system colors, and dynamic typography. Material 3 Expressive is coming to Android 16, Wear OS 6, Pixel devices, and Google apps throughout the year, including Google TV.

According to Android Police, the latest Google TV app update, with the exceptionally long version number of “4.39.3356.780959673.5,” has started to receive some of these Material 3 Expressive design improvements. These include changes such as a larger banner area at the top of each details page, the names of shows and movies now being centered, and buttons, for things such as liking and disliking a show, are now flatter. Additionally, Google has removed some of the rounded rectangles in the app in favor of more pill-shaped buttons.

While these design changes aren’t drastic, they are part of Google’s new Material 3 Expressive design philosophy, aimed at making the Google TV and overall Android experience more modern. But what’s upsetting people with Google TV isn’t its new look, it’s the horrific new homescreen ads.

Operating system: Google TV
Ease of use: High
Smart assistants: Google Assistant
Ad presence: Moderate
App availability: Very wide
Notable features: AI-curated content; Chromecast built-in

Google Material Design 3 Expressive blog header from Google

Google’s big Android redesign is official, and it’s teeming with expression

At its Android Show: I/O Edition, Google has unveiled Material 3 Expressive, the next evolution of Android’s design language.

Google TV is advertising more than just shows

Coca-Cola has taken over a Redditor’s Google TV homescreen

Homescreen ads aren’t anything new on Google TV. They’ve been around for a while, and typically, they showcase new shows or sponsored content on it for you to consider watching. However, recently, a Google TV user took to Reddit to show Google’s latest homescreen ad, a massive splash screen for Coca-Cola, advertising its new Star Wars collaboration.

In the ad, you can see a massive picture of Kylo Ren, a snapshot from The Force Awakens, and Coca-Cola cans featuring the designs of Darth Maul and Ahsoka from Star Wars. There is an “Explore the Galaxy” button that appears, presumably directing you to Star Wars content on Google TV. The Redditor who posted the Star Wars Coca-Cola ad appearing on their Google TV also says they got one for Taco Bell as well.

…one of the easiest ways to avoid seeing large and distracting homescreen ads like this on Google TV is to use a third-party launcher.

So now, Google TV’s home screen is flooded with ads for shows, movies, and also brands like Coca-Cola. One Redditor reports that they received a Coca-Cola ad on their Google TV Streamer, which froze the device. “This exact ad froze my Google streamer, this morning. I had to long press the home button so I could get into the settings menu and reboot.”

As many Redditors quickly pointed out, one of the easiest ways to avoid seeing large and distracting homescreen ads like this on Google TV is to use a third-party launcher. Fortunately, Google TV lets you change its default launcher, just like you can on any Android phone. You can download various Google TV launchers from the Google Play Store and set them as the default launcher instead of Google’s. If you’re looking for something simple to jump into your favorite streaming app right away, many Redditors recommended the Projectivy Launcher to escape Google’s barrage of ads on Google TV. You can check out the original Reddit thread below.