With the launch of Google TV, a whole new interface for Android TV was introduced a long time ago, which is mainly shown on the home screen and the selection of apps or media. Now an update is just around the corner, which should also revise the screensavers of the Smart TV platform. These will get some additional information from the installed media apps.
Google has discovered “Ambient Computing” for itself, which started on a larger scale with smart displays and has also been in development on smart TVs for a long time. A major update for the screen saver on Google TV that was announced last year is now being rolled out. Instead of just showing individual images from the photo gallery, as before, a lot of additional information can be displayed there, which can transform the screen into a smart display, at least in the one-way street.
This was announced back then with the screenshot above and the very large and transparent info cards in the middle of the screen. The rollout was supposed to happen as early as December for US users, but it was never spotted. Apparently, the plans have changed, so it should take another six months. Only now has the new variant been shown to a user for the first time, albeit in a revised form: the cards are now at the bottom and also significantly smaller.
In the following two screenshots, you can see how this is shown on a third-party device – not on Google’s own Chromecast, mind you. The information cards displayed in a carousel-like view contain content from Spotify, YouTube Music, a sample request for the Google Assistant, the weather forecast and content from Google Podcasts for one user. So it’s very much about media and the Google Assistant.
The content may vary depending on usage and personalized results may also be displayed there in the future. There has not yet been an official announcement of this rollout wave and it is not known whether this time it will be rolled out worldwide or again only for US users.