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Smart DNS Proxy l August 12, 2021

Fresh and Juicy Android TV apps

Hola amigos. In the previous Android TV video, we covered some amazing apps. 

For example, TV Usage app shows you how much time you are spending on your TV and what exactly are you watching, it's like Apple Screen Time or Android's Digital Wellbeing but for TV.

We also saw Send Files to TV which is a simple yet must-have app that lets you send files from your phone to Android TV or from your Android TV to your phone. It's very simple and you should definitely try it out.

There's also Google Duo if you want to video call from TV although you will need an external webcam.

And finally, if you’re looking for some classic retro-console action gaming, check out Retroarch. This is an emulator that you can install to play NES/SNES games on Android TV with a controller.

So, those were some honorable mentions we covered in our previous videos, now let's take a look at fresh Android TV apps.

Of course, we won't be covering basic apps such as Netflix, Prime videos, YouTube and all that jazz. Everyone knows them and they are often preinstalled on your Android TV.

IMDB TV

Okay, first up, we’ve got an awesome Android app that we recommend to everyone - IMDb TV.

Finally, after 2 years, Amazon has published an Android TV version of IMDb TV. What's good about IMDb TV is that it gives you access to the entire service's catalogue with no paid subscription necessary.

For example, big names like How To Train Your Dragon, Schitt's Creek, Lost, 24, Mad Men, The Big Lebowski. And the best part is, these are not only free, but the ads are also non-intrusive. For example, while watching Captain Philips, there were only 2 ads in it. Although this could change as the service becomes more popular.

As of now, IMDb TV is only available in the United States but you can use SDP VPN to change your location and it works fine.

Do check out IMDb TV.

Slideshow for Google Photos

While you can sideload Google photos apk on your Android TV, however, we would recommend you give Slideshow for Google Photos a try.

The app can set a Slideshow of your albums from Google Photos as Android TV's Screen saver.

Just install the app, connect your Google account and you can browse the images and set one or all the photos as the screen saver. You can set when the screen triggers and even get a preview with the press of a button. Neat, isn’t it?

Apple TV

Apple has finally launched its Apple TV app on Android TVs as well. Which means if you have an Apple TV+ subscription, you can now enjoy it on your Android TV’s big screen, without having to get an Apple TV 4K.

If you have a Shield TV, you will be glad to know that its AI upscales can boosts 1080p content to 4K even on Apple TV. Also, Google Assistant works with the app for hands-free control.

AirScreen

If you have an iPhone and Android TV, this app is for you.

You can cast my Android screen to your Android TV, but iPhones do not support Google Cast. So, say, if I want to share the vacation photos on my iPhone to bigger screen, it won't work natively.

And that's where AirScreen comes in, it allows iPhone users to stream media from an iPhone to an Apple TV.

AirScreen creates an AirPlay server on your Android TV, allowing you to mirror your iPhone's screen.

It even works for Mac screen too. So that's fun.

And if you have iOS 15, you will be able to cast your audio from your iPhone to your Mac, which can be sent to your Android TV as well.

TV bro

So up until now, we were using Puffin Browser, until it introduced subscription model for browsing.

I mean, if you check the description of the Puffin Browser on Playstore it says: “This service is provided with a daily limited free usage quota” and “Users can pay a subscription for unlimited uses.”

Really? A subscription model for a web browser when all the other ones are free? Anyway, that’s when we switched to TV bro.

TV Bro is first of all free and open source, no subscription model here. Moreover, it’s optimized with TV remote and has support for bookmarks and voice search.

Overall, quite a fast browser and can download as well. Worth checking out if you are looking for new browser.

Google Stadia

Next Android TV app is Google Stadia. Yes, Google has now officially launched the Stadia for Android TV app.

As of now, Google Stadia is officially available in the United States; however, you can sideload the apk and use a VPN as well. Once logged in, the app walks you through how to connect a controller and gets you set up to play.

Now, talking about the experience, we tried the app with a VPN on a 1 GBPS connection connected to Ethernet, and we have to say, the connection wasn't the best. The lag is a bit too much.

However, this could be due to VPN, so your mileage may vary, let us know about your experience in the comments below.

So, that was a list.

Hopefully, you found some new Android TV apps and not just the regular ones like Netflix, Plex, Kodi, etc., that are all over the internet.

Check out Smart DNS Proxy if you’re keen to unblock geo-restricted content like Netflix US, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and a bunch of other stuff.

Thanks for reading and watching, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified about new videos.

See you in the next one!

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