Update 6/18/21: We mentioned that the Discover tab from Google TV was now rolling out to Shield TV owners, but this is actually the entire Discover home UI including content recommendations. Users in Italy and Spain will not receive the Discover tab, but they will receive content recommendations via the new home UI as well.
Google TV continues its takeover of the traditional Android TV experience, just as Google said it would. Over the next few years, it will be directly responsible for phasing out Android TV altogether – at least the interface. In its place, Google TV’s arguably more user-friendly approach to content discovery and personalization will reign supreme.
Earlier this year, 9to5Google spotted the new Google TV ‘Discover’ tab on their Shield TV device, and today, it’s finally making its debut with users everywhere. Being dubbed the ‘Discover homescreen’ for Android TV, this is not yet fully Google TV itself. However, it is just one more step toward the full transition that the company plans on making across all set-top boxes, televisions, and dongles.
Users in the United States, the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, and France can expect to see this new layout appear for them shortly. The only exception is Italy and Spain, which will receive some Google TV layout updates, but not the ‘Discover’ tab itself. I’m personally a big fan of the Google TV design and prefer it over the Android TV one, but let me know what you think – has your device updated yet, and are you okay with the switch? It may be time for me to plug my Shield TV back in and update it at this point as it’s been collecting dust ever since the Chromecast with Google TV came out.
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