Google has buried what may be one of the most intriguing options offered by Google TV. And I get why it has done so. But the “Apps only mode” option has completely changed the way I feel about Google TV.
First, some context. This isn’t a new thing. But it is new to me. And I now present it to you. Fairly deep within the account options in Google TV — that is, the section that controls the Google account that’s active on Google TV at any given time — is an option called “Apps only mode” that kills all the recommendations off the home screen. I always knew there were a lot of recommendations on the Google TV launcher home screen. But it wasn’t until I flipped that switch that I realized just how bloated it was.
And that’s just the start of things. Google’s tooltip says”: “When on, this will hide Google’s recommendations from your home screen, along with your ability to give feedback on movies or shows, or add them to your watchlist. You can access all the apps installed on the device.”
That, along with having already killed recommendations in the YouTube app, is exactly what I want.
Here’s how to get to it. Use the remote to select your account image in the top-left corner. Now choose Manage Accounts. Scroll down, and choose Apps only mode. Click to toggle, and click through the warning. Google really doesn’t want you to do this, as evidenced by the lengthy warning that starts with “This will hide Google’s recommendations for your home screen, along with your ability to give feedback on movies or shows, or add them to your watchlist. Previously purchased titles from Google Play will not be accessible, but can be cast from your phone from the Google TV or YouTube mobile app.” OK, so that last part is a bit of a bummer. It continues: “You can access all the apps installed on the device, and non-personalized, featured content will still be shown on your home screen.”
Confirm with the toggle, then hit the Home button to go back to the home screen. You don’t even have to scroll down to see what a difference it’s made.
The navigation bar is simplified, stripping away the For You, Live, Apps, and Library tabs, leaving only a blissfully simple “Home.” The Search tool also is removed up top, leaving only the Settings gear.
There’s still the content carousel in the top half of the screen, and I’m fine with that because it’s minimal, and it looks great with the art Google TV uses.
Things have drastically changed beneath it. The single row of small app icons is replaced by two rows of larger icons. You don’t actually gain all that much here — 10 icons instead of nine. And Google’s “Freeplay” icon is gone, too, so you actually get one more substantive app than you had before. All you get is your installed apps.
One other problem, though: Because there’s no Google Assistant — and no Google Play app icon — you don’t have a way to install new apps. That’s obviously not ideal. So don’t do this unless you know you have everything you want installed, or you’ll be flipping back and forth between modes a lot.
But after that? This is as close to an Apple TV-simplified experience as you can get.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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