Android and iOS are Replacing Google Play Movies & TV
Google TV has taken another step toward acquiring Google Play Movies. The app will be available on iOS on Wednesday as an in-app update for Google Play Movies & TV. As previously stated in March, Play Movies & TV is losing its top-level position in the Android Play Store this week. There’s hardly much left of Play Movies & TV or Google’s initial Play brand objectives.
Google TV Taking Over
First and foremost, the Google TV app is now available on iOS. The app for Android is half media shop, part content aggregation guide. You may have noticed that there are several streaming options available. Google TV functions as a modern-day TV guide, letting you know what programs are airing on which applications and the same feature is now available on iOS.
According to Google, iOS users may “carry your library with you,” but only for “movies and programs you have already rented or paid for using your Google account.” So it seems that the Google TV shop will not be included. You can now use your iOS smartphone as a remote control if you have to run the Android TV or Google TV operating systems on your TV.
This week, Google also implemented its plan to remove video purchases from the Play Store, making Google TV the sole video-sharing platform from Google on Android.
Google Play was initially envisioned as a media empire that included Google Play Music, Google Play Magazines/Newsstand, Google Play Movies & TV, and Google Play Books, all of which were offered via the Google Play Store. The Play Store is the default app store for all 3 billion Android devices worldwide. Lining up a variety of media content shops alongside Google’s heavily visited app store looked (and still seems) to be a sound approach.
Google, on the other hand, has abandoned the remaining media storefronts in favor of independent domains. In 2018, Newsstand/Magazines was decommissioned in favor of Google News. Google Music was unfortunately discontinued in 2020 in favor of YouTube Music. Since the advent of Google TV in 2020, Play Movies has been phased away, and the Play Store now only offers the uncomfortable mix of applications and books.
Play Movies & TV is not faring as well as other Google Play businesses. Contrary to its name, Google TV performs movie chores on certain platforms, but so does YouTube, and Play Movies is still available on some platforms and in some areas. Google has a support website that details its definitely-not-broken video app portfolio, indicating which of its three competing brands are accessible on which devices. Depending on your location, phones still seem to have YouTube, Play Movies & TV, and Google TV. On the web, you may still choose between Google Play and YouTube.
Smart TVs are quite complex: on third-party systems such as Roku, you must utilize the YouTube app. Google does not provide a Google TV app for Android TV; instead, you must utilize the Play Movies & TV app. Google has created a new fork of Android TV, commonly known as “Google TV” (this is a whole operating system), that incorporates the Google TV service into the operating system. That helps to explain why Android TV lacks a Google TV app.
Wrapping Up
It would make the most sense to replace everything with Google’s strongest media content brand, YouTube, but licensing agreements would complicate that. Google Play Movies & TV allows purchases in 117 countries, but YouTube only allows purchases in 46 countries. There is already a service named “YouTube TV,” but it is a cable TV substitute.
