The Google TV app, which collects content recommendations from numerous streaming services and allows you to create a universal watchlist of your favorites, is now available on iOS. Google says it will replace the previous one Google Play Movies & TV App on the App Store, so if you already have that installed you should be able to update it to the Google TV experience sometime today.
The software, already available on Android, also allows you to review what you’ve viewed before to improve future recommendations. More importantly for Android TV or Chromecast with Google TV owners, you can use the Google TV app as a remote for those devices by tapping the remote icon.
Not every major streaming service allows its content to be included in Google TV’s rows of aggregated recordings: Netflix is the big one. The company retired from Google TV integration very shortly after the release of the 2020 Chromecast, and Google has been unable to bring Netflix back into the fold since then.
Aside from the entertainment carousels, the Google TV app also includes your library of rentals and purchases from Google. (If you have Movies Anywhere set up, here’s another way to stream that content.) All of that is accessible from the “your stuff” tab. Google says the “highlights” tab keeps you “in the loop with a personalized daily feed of news, reviews and more about the entertainment you love.”
Google TV is still one of my favorite interfaces for browsing what’s available for all the services you’re subscribed to. Recently, Google added individual user profiles to the experience, giving everyone in your home their own personal choices and home screen. The company has also hinted that it has fitness features in the works for its TV platform.
