The Android Google TV app may soon get a built-in remote control for Android TVs, XDA Developers reports. The feature, which has not yet been released, was discovered in the code for version 4.25 of the Android app. Enabling the feature builds a seemingly incomplete interface built around a large D-pad, and the option to pair the app with an Android TV with a 4-digit PIN.
The discovery of the new code coincides with a renewed pressure from Google to update and modernize the smart TV software. Last year, he launched a Chromecast with a new Google TV operating system interface, and this software is also a built-in operating system for smart TVs. As part of the launch, Google also renamed its Play Movies & TV app on Google TV on Android (on iOS it still appears as Google Play Movies & TV).
Google is working to integrate the Android TV remote control application into the Google TV application. Here are some screenshots of the feature, which is not yet available in version 4.25. (Surprise, surprise … this is exactly as you would expect.) pic.twitter.com/73iqX6FRJd
– Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 2, 2021
Google technically already has an Android TV app on iOS and Android that offers this feature, but no versions have been updated in years. We would not be surprised if both were eventually discontinued when the feature was rolled out in the Google TV app.