Google has been giving all its apps a fresh look with the new Material 3 Expressive design. We’ve already seen it pop up in several core apps in recent days, including the Contacts app, Find Hub, Google Keep, and more recently the Pixel Weather app. Now it’s Google TV’s turn to get the visual upgrade.
Last month, we caught a glimpse of some early tweaks to the Google TV app, like slightly larger banners and centered titles and ratings on movie and show pages. Now, thanks to 9to5Google, we’ve got a full look at the new changes, which are already live in version 4.39 of the app for Android.
The Material 3 Expressive revamp gives the Google TV app a clean new look and introduces a completely reworked page. The old Highlights tab is gone, replaced with a streamlined “Hot & New” section that zeroes in on recent releases instead of mixing in web articles and more. This updated tab also brings muted autoplay previews, bite-sized summaries, and prominent “Add to watchlist” and “Share” buttons for quicker navigation.
The “For You” tab has gained a vibrant redesign too. It still curates personalized picks but now leans heavily on dynamic Material You colors, especially in search. Movie and show pages soak in even more of the artwork’s palette, giving them a cohesive, pop-up-on-screen feel.
In-app remote is now a full-page experience
But it’s a little buggy
Finally, the in-app remote no longer slides in, but it now covers the full screen. Handy, right? Except one gesture is borked: long-pressing the “Select” button doesn’t work anymore, cutting off access to certain menus in apps like YouTube. That feature used to work in earlier versions, so here’s hoping Google patches it soon.
The redesign isn’t widely available yet, with only a small group of users getting early access. Google hasn’t shared when it’ll roll out to everyone, but it’s a clear sign of where the app is headed.
