Google Play Film becomes Google TV: what’s changing

Google Play Film has become Google TV: here's what's changing for users and what happens to movies and content previously purchased with the old app

Google Play Film becomes Google TV, or to be exact Google TV (formerly Google Play Film), to quote exactly the new name present within the big G's app store. The transition is almost painless, but over time it should lead to more news for users.

The transition from Google Play Film to Google TV (formerly Google Play Film) - but in the not too distant future it should be called more simply Google TV, as we'll call it below for convenience - has been taking place on Mountain View's virtual app store since September 30, when the first users began to notice an update to Google Play Film that radically changed its name. A few hours later, the official announcement from Google arrived, with an email notification to the platform's subscribers announcing the change. In these hours the emails are arriving also to Italian users. What's the deal?

Google TV: what's changing for users

For Android users, the switch from Google Play Movies to Google TV is not only painless, but also an improvement. Google has taken the opportunity to give a slight restyling to the "old" interface along with some interesting new features that complement the one in the Play Store, where Google Play Film changes to Google TV (previously Google Play Film). It's important to note that previously purchased content will be transferred to the "new" application.

For those who use Google Play Film from an iPhone, however, for the moment nothing changes: at present the app is present on the Apple App Store with the same name as always - Google Play Film & TV - so there are no changes to report as for the Android counterpart. Of course, the change will also affect those who use an iPhone, but we don't know when Google will intervene even within the Cupertino store and smartphones on which the streaming app made in Mountain View is installed.

New features and how Google TV works

Google TV allows you to find entertainment content with which to distract yourself from the stresses and strains of everyday life and allows you to easily enjoy them in one place. The catalog includes over 400 thousand movies and TV show episodes from the various streaming apps you have installed, brought together in a single virtual environment and organized by topic and genre.

The Google TV app lets you discover new content based on what you've enjoyed the most in the past and the most viewed and rated content that comes from the services you subscribe to. It also allows you to search for titles on the home page to find out which streaming content apps they're available in.

To the title list in the app, you can add movies and shows you think are interesting so you can keep tabs on new discoveries and watch them later. The list of titles is shared across all devices for which the Google TV app exists.