At its Android Show: I/O Edition in May,Google announceda redesign of its Android operating system, calledMaterial 3 Expressive. The redesign aims to make your device “feel unique to you,” with new customization options, animations, system colors, and dynamic typography. Material 3 Expressive is coming to Android 16, Wear OS 6, Pixel devices, and Google apps throughout the year, includingGoogle TV.
According toAndroid Police, the latest Google TV app update, with the exceptionally long version number of “24-06-2025.780959673.5,” has started to receive some of these Material 3 Expressive design improvements. These include changes such as a larger banner area at the top of each details page, the names of shows and movies now being centered, and buttons, for things such as liking and disliking a show, are now flatter. Additionally, Google has removed some of the rounded rectangles in the app in favor of more pill-shaped buttons.
While these design changes aren’t drastic, they are part of Google’s new Material 3 Expressive design philosophy, aimed at making the Google TV and overall Android experience more modern. But what’s upsetting people with Google TV isn’t its new look, it’s the horrific new homescreen ads.
Google’s big Android redesign is official, and it’s teeming with expression
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Google TV is advertising more than just shows
Coca-Cola has taken over a Redditor’s Google TV homescreen
In the ad, you can see a massive picture of Kylo Ren, a snapshot from The Force Awakens, and Coca-Cola cans featuring the designs of Darth Maul and Ahsoka from Star Wars. There is an “Explore the Galaxy” button that appears, presumably directing you to Star Wars content on Google TV. The Redditor who posted the Star Wars Coca-Cola ad appearing on their Google TV also says they got one for Taco Bell as well.
…one of the easiest ways to avoid seeing large and distracting homescreen ads like this on Google TV is to use a third-party launcher.
So now, Google TV’s home screen is flooded with ads for shows, movies, and also brands like Coca-Cola. One Redditor reports that they received a Coca-Cola ad on their Google TV Streamer, which froze the device. “This exact ad froze my Google streamer, this morning. I had to long press the home button so I could get into the settings menu and reboot.”
As many Redditors quickly pointed out, one of the easiest ways to avoid seeing large and distracting homescreen ads like this on Google TV is to use a third-party launcher. Fortunately, Google TV lets you change its default launcher, just like you can on any Android phone. You can download various Google TV launchers from the Google Play Store and set them as the default launcher instead of Google’s. If you’re looking for something simple to jump into your favorite streaming app right away, many Redditors recommended the Projectivy Launcher to escape Google’s barrage of ads on Google TV. You can check out the original Reddit thread below.
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