The Google TV screen saver is nice, but where is my native Photos app?

One of my favorite features of Google TV is without a doubt the screensaver. Wait, isn’t that just a logo bouncing on a screen? Not quite. Ambient modeas it’s officially called, it can display images from sources like NASA, Getty, and Google Arts & Culture. It prevents screen burn-in and at the same time transforms my TV into an art gallery. He is brilliant, but he has a talent that makes him even more valuable.

It can display images from my library and Google Photos albums, many of which contain deeply cherished memories from my travels. In fact, the feature is so good that I often find myself fumbling when trying to open the Google Photos app on my TV, only to remember that this isn’t possible.

That was the good thing; Now let me address the bad. For some indiscernible reason, there is still no official Google Photos app for Google TV, and it is high time the company addressed this obvious shortcoming.

“But you CAN see your photos on Google TV, so what’s the problem?” is the company’s likely argument, but I can’t agree with that point of view. Current methods for accessing my photos simply cannot emulate the extensive usability and functionality of a dedicated app.

As I mentioned, Ambient Mode is a great feature, but it’s a screen saver. Its main purpose is to prevent pixel burn-in on my TV, not to allow me to flip through specific albums. The fact that a screensaver is the best way to navigate Google Photos on a TV highlights the platform’s problem.

There are other methods to view Photos content on Google TV, but they are much more complicated than necessary.

Let’s start with the first one: streaming photos from the Android app to my TV.

We’re on our phones practically every hour of the day, so it stands to reason that sending images from the Photos app is the easiest solution, right? Not quite. This method is much less reliable than you could ever hope for. Maybe it’s because my Chromecast with Google TV connects via Ethernetbut my phone often can’t detect the transmitter to stream content. My situation is probably one that few users face, but it highlights a potential flaw that an app could easily fix.

Then there’s the other option: using Google’s sophisticated search function to display photos and albums.

Google claims I can use Gemini voice commands on my remote to search for photos in my account, but there are a lot of obstacles preventing me from even trying. For one thing, I still don’t have Gemini in my Chromecast with Google TV. Secondly, I am not in the United States. If these two prerequisites are not met, I can’t even try this Google-endorsed method.

Annoyingly, there is a real shortage of alternatives and third-party methods. Kodi and its Google Photos add-on are often mentioned on forums, but are deprecated. I’m also not sure how safe I would be lending my Google Photos data and credentials to any other unofficial platform or app.

Given the problems with the current options and the lack of alternatives, the most sensible way to use Google Photos on Google TV would be through a dedicated app.

The benefits of a native portal are obvious. I would have a direct way to access my saved albums and photos—no need to search or stream, no worrying about a connection drop or whether Gemini understood my search query. It would also (hopefully) offer access to the features of the Android Photos app, including browsing collections, searching for content, and other organization options. I would appreciate using my much larger TV screen to view photos and decide which ones to keep or delete. I’m sure other Google TV users feel the same way.

Accessing content as essential as my Photos libraries shouldn’t be so difficult on a platform designed to showcase personal content. And if we look at Google TV’s rivals, the company is lagging behind in this regard.

Apple’s tvOS offers users a dedicated Photos app with a rich feature set. It even allows users to create custom slideshows of selected images, instead of Ambient Screensaver’s random album selection method. Even Amazon Fire TVs offer a built-in photo viewing experience.

Look, overall, I enjoy using Google TV. It is a reliable platform that is open to customization, supports a wide range of content and services, and is easy to use. Then there are visual embellishments, like Ambient Screensaver, that transform my TV into a wonderful dopamine dispenser. I would love nothing more than to make the most of it, access the memories, explore those albums, enjoy them on a big screen, and make plans to create even more. However, one of the world’s most prolific app developers, Google, simply doesn’t see a Photos app on TV as important as injecting Gemini into everything.

Hopefully the company reviews its priorities, but since we haven’t received a dedicated YouTube Music app for TV yet, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath.