Google is working to make its smart TV platform prettier and smarter, one app at a time.
Four months after a major Google TV update, Google announced on February 12 that a new update to the platform's featured YouTube app has been released through Android Market.
"First you'll notice the app works faster with smoother navigation for a better experience," Google product manager Jurek Foryciarz wrote on the Google TV Blog. "Next, we've added a new feature called Discover, which lets you browse YouTube channels by categories."
With easier browsing, the new Discover feature, a revamped interface, and other additions like the ability to read viewer comments and info about a video while the video is playing, Google is making tracks away from the glitches that plagued Google TV when the product was first released back in 2010.
Critics slammed Google TV after it dropped, and even Logitech, which partnered with Google to produce Google TV set-top boxes, had negative things to say. According to The Verge, Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca said in November that the launch of the Logitech Revue Google TV box was "a mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature" and that the venture "cost [Logitech] dearly."
Other updates to the Google TV YouTube app include one-click subscriptions to redesigned channel pages; the option to see related videos and more videos from the same user using the arrows on a Google TV remote; and the ability to comment on, thumbs up, or add a video on its Info screen.
9to5Mac reports that that Apple may be making some updates to its own smart TV platform, Apple TV. "One of our Best Buy sources just pinged us and alerted us that Apple TV is not just out of stock at his store, but Apple TVs are no longer shipping to the stores at all anymore," 9to5Mac writes.
Check out the slideshow (below) to see what's new with the YouTube app for Google TV.
