C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is testing two new tabs in Google TV’s navigation bar that help you find content more easily.
- These include “Free” and “Shop” sections, which sort free-to-play and paid content into different sections.
- Google also introduced a similar Free page to Android TV with an update last month.
Last September, Google TV’s homescreen received an updated navigation bar along with a shortcut to launching Gemini. While that update is still rolling out to users, Google appears to be testing a new set of changes to the navigation bar, making it easier to browse content across different apps.
According to Reddit user Jodath79 (via 9to5Google), the Google TV interface is getting two new tabs on the top navigation bar. These new tabs, placed between the Live and Apps tabs, are designed to search for “Free” and “Paid” content across apps installed on the Google TV.
The Free tab also lists the top 10 shows or movies in a specific country that are available without any payment, but “with ads.” This suggests the section is also sourcing content from Freeplay, a Google service that offers free-to-stream live channels and ad-supported content.
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For the user, these changes specifically appear on a freshly installed Google TV Streamer but not on older Streamer units installed on other TVs in their house. This suggests Google may be testing these changes on a small set of devices rather than rolling them out widely.
Notably, we also spotted Google testing a similar Free tab on Android TV last month. And by expanding it to Google TV, Google may be looking to capture more views from folks using screens that are either newer or from more prominent brands — obviously with the objective to get its ad revenue up.
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