There’s never been a better time to get the new Google TV launcher

It’s always exciting when a product gets a new software update, but these days I can’t help but shudder when Google TV brings out an update. With its latest revision, Google intends to make you love YouTube Shorts, which places short-form video content created for vertical devices on the default Google TV home screen.

Thankfully, you don’t have to stand by for this or any of the home screen quirks. The first thing I did after purchasing my Chromecast with Google TV was to install a third-party launcher. Given the latest updates, there’s never been a better time to join the club.

The Google TV interface suffers from Google’s usual software problems: an abundance of bloat, virtually no customization features, and forced content options over which you have little control. Nothing like a sponsored box that takes up half the display that has nothing to do with anything I’m seeing.

I’m not alone in my irritation, either.

“Every day there’s another stupid ad on my TV,” writes one particularly irritated Google TV user on the default launcher’s Play Store listing. “Nowhere in the Google TV streamer’s listing does it say it comes with ads for cloud servers, McDonald’s, or gold bloody rings.”

I’ve never seen my feelings expressed so accurately in a Google Play Store review.

However, the commentator is on to something. The default launcher forces you to use Google TV the way Google does it rather than making the experience your own. Obviously, the company really wants to make it as difficult as possible to find your favorite movies and shows. Third-party launchers turn this on its head, putting control back in your hands.

No matter which Google TV launcher you choose, you’ll find that they offer a wide range of UI tweaks, covering both practical and purely aesthetic aspects of the big screen experience. best of all? Not a single advertisement. Not a single sponsored screen. Not a single QR code for a Taco Bell promotion.

Projectivity emphasizes optimization. This includes enlarging or reducing text and thumbnails to maximize legibility. I can decide which thumbnail shortcuts of the services I want to display. I can also decide which apps to recommend content without too much pressure.

Plus, there are a number of visual enhancements, from a suite of color and theme options to wallpaper plugins that bring in content from third-party sources. The best part is that I can adjust the home screen layout to make navigation faster. No big boxes or ad slots above the app list – just click, and I’m in YouTube instantly.

Making changes to all these things can be overwhelming, but it’s the right choice if you want control over almost every aspect of your Google TV experience.

Of course, projectivity is not the only option. There are plenty of options that focus more deeply on visual or organizational tools. Some other solid Google TV Launcher alternatives include:

• dispatch: : With a heavy emphasis on visuals, Dispatch has another superpower: showing Plex content from your library on the home screen. This makes it a perfect replacement for Google TV if you don’t rely solely on streaming services. However, it only has a 14-day free trial.
• AT4K: : One of the easiest Google TV launchers to use, AT4K is perfect for minimalists who want to be free of Google’s stifling ads. It’s surprisingly quick on its feet, featuring ready-made themes and special cards to instantly take you back to the series you’re watching. It is free to use with some premium features locked.
• arch: : Based on LTvLauncher (which itself is a fork of FLauncher), Arc focuses on speed and simplicity. Yes, it has lots of visual flourishes, including transparency effects and lots of accent colors, but it also focuses on practicalities. Arch is free and open source.
• floncher: : One of the most popular Google TV launcher recommendations, FLauncher is simple, easy to use, and lightweight. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles, this option is for you. Flowchart is free to use.

A brief summary really only scratches the surface of these launchers, so I’d suggest trying each one on your own device before choosing a winner. There’s more to discover!

Changing the default Google TV launcher is an easy task; It’s as easy as finding the app you want in the Play Store. In particular, with some apps like Arc, you may need to download the APK from the app’s source and sideload it. You can read a more detailed guide on this particular process at the link.

Anyhow, to use Projectivity as an example, here’s what you need to do to replace the default Google TV launcher with your choice:

1. Go to the Play Store on your Google TV.
2. Search for “Projectivity” or your launcher of choice.
3. tap to install Option.
4. Tap open Once the installation is complete.
5. Follow the developer’s detailed setup steps.

You may need to grant the new launcher accessibility permissions to ensure that pressing the home button and selecting various apps go through the new launcher instead of Google, but the launcher should inform you of this during setup.

Notably, Google’s launcher will continue to run in the background even after you’ve set up your new home screen, wasting precious resources. However, it’s a small penalty to pay to avoid countless ads and promotions.

With the latest update to Google TV, it’s clear that the company’s big screen platform is definitely headed in the opposite direction. youtube shorts? More AI? Mexican food commercial? Well, I love Mexican food, but I use Google TV to watch content, not to order flautas. I wish Google would give its loyal users more respect in this regard.

Although there’s little you can do to avoid all this by using the default Google TV launcher, you do have the power to install one of several third-party alternatives.