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Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

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Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#491

Post by andrei_says_ »

balozi wrote: post #392
andrei_says_ wrote: post #270

Who made these decisions, who worked on the implementation, who launched it? Would they have agreed to it if they were not anonymous? Would they have agreed on it if they were in a union?

Management, product designers, devs, everyone - including the customers whose ads you are seeing. They are all in it together, making money. Union or no union.

What are the names of the manager, product designer, engineers who worked on this?

I am speaking about the influence of anonymity in making and executing on user-hostile decisions.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#492

Post by kmonsen »

eitland wrote: post #474
kmonsen wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another one of Google’s tenets that have been forgotten is focus on the user. First it meant just focus on the user, then it became well we are focusing on the user when we do deceptive ads because then they get other services for free, then it was completely forgotten. I think there was a time when Apple was screwing up for a while and just making things shittier with new releases that Android actually was better. T…

> Edit: the iPhone keyboard really hates swearing though. Lack of 3rd party keyboards was one of the things that kept me from using iPhones for a long time but these days I wonder why do anyone keep the original one?

I was stupid,just switched and the new one is a lot better. How come the stock keyboard is so much worse?

Thanks for the tip! Which one do you use BTW?

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#493

Post by eitland »

kmonsen wrote: post #492
eitland wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Edit: the iPhone keyboard really hates swearing though. Lack of 3rd party keyboards was one of the things that kept me from using iPhones for a long time but these days I wonder why do anyone keep the original one?

I was stupid,just switched and the new one is a lot better. How come the stock keyboard is so much worse? Thanks for the tip! Which one do you use BTW?

Happy to help :-)

I'm using SwiftKey - but I only type with it, I don't swipe. Also they are slowly introducing more bugs but it is still usable.

You then, which did you end up with?

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#494

Post by headmelted »

timeinput wrote: post #407
jbluepolarbear wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that’s a feature that makes sense promote tv shows on your tv device. Most/all of the promoted shows are from apps already installed. Like the Disney+ Promo for Raya. I already had Disney+, so it was more of a hey watch this new content you’re already paying for.

I only have Hulu installed, and it's the only paid streaming service I use. I'm getting ads for peakcock and disney+ too.

This ^^

Why am I getting ads for services I don’t have, and why can’t I switch them off if I want to?

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#495

Post by headmelted »

aardvarkr wrote: post #277
headmelted wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

tvOS has the same problem I’m afraid.

With ads that I can easily go into settings to turn off? That’s the problem people are upset about is this is forced upon you with zero realistic alternatives. Apple puts it into the settings whereas you have to use adb to forcefully swap the launcher. That’s a pretty bog difference c

Where can I switch ATV ads off in the settings?

I also assumed it would be there, but unless I’m missing it, the option to disable those ads doesn’t exist.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#496

Post by headmelted »

jbluepolarbear wrote: post #488
headmelted wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re wrong and they’re ads. If I’m on the home screen and I want to search across apps (a core feature) I’m routed through the TV app, which will try to make me buy new services or pay fees to watch content I already have access to on Netflix. It will also mix in banners for shows/movies I don’t have access to without paying additional fees, and doesn’t allow a way to disable this. This is exactly the problem peopl…

You’re wrong and confused on the Apple TV. There were is a home bar on tvOS, apps in this bar directly represent the ads you’ll see. If you highlight tv then you get ads for shows in that app. Likewise, highlighting the App Store shows ads for popular apps and services. You can remove any of these apps from that bar.

False.

Others in this thread have already spoken about getting ads for Peacock, Disney+ and Hulu even though they don’t have the services installed, let alone in the app bar.

Today I tried to continue watching a show I’ve been watching for a month and Apple wanted me to pay money just because it’s on Netflix. No mention whatsoever that it’s on Netflix or even a banner to read “content from other services may not appear in this app”.

Sure I can check Netflix separately, but that means that if I want to use the most popular streaming service in the world on this device reliably then I no longer have a universal search feature.

It’s crazy that the experience is this bad and no-one is willing to point it out.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#497

Post by sureglymop »

mschuster91 wrote: post #440
sureglymop wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know of any Android TV / smart tv box which has a USB port? I am currently building a magic mirror like smart map. Basically, the goal is to have a big touchscreen with Google maps or Google earth running. For touch screen support I bought a cheap USB infrared frame. I have tested it with the USB C port of my Android phone and it works well, but I have sadly not found any Android TV box which has an USB port.

> Do you know of any Android TV / smart tv box which has a USB port? Build your own with a Raspberry Pi. The new ones pack quite some heat in terms of performance.

Unfortunately I don't think Android is officially available for the Raspberry Pi.. But what I did to test my frame was installing Android x86 on a NUC. The reason why I want Android is because the Google Maps and Google Earth apps there already provide the touch experience I want.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#498

Post by sureglymop »

TingPing wrote: post #232
sureglymop wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know of any Android TV / smart tv box which has a USB port? I am currently building a magic mirror like smart map. Basically, the goal is to have a big touchscreen with Google maps or Google earth running. For touch screen support I bought a cheap USB infrared frame. I have tested it with the USB C port of my Android phone and it works well, but I have sadly not found any Android TV box which has an USB port.

I believe many that use usb for power, like Google's, are real ports that can be split with a hub.

Oh wow, that is news to me. That would be what I'm looking for! Thanks

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#499

Post by LegitShady »

johnchristopher wrote: post #74
LegitShady wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not wrong, but what should be the narrative to any future devices like this is: "They change it after selling it to you for the worse, don't buy their products." When that becomes the reputation the problem will solve itself when they stop selling them from bad reputation.

And how much billions is the marketing budget to get that narrative successful ? /s

mostly memes

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#500

Post by Kaius »

gambiting wrote: post #386
prepend wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all companies are equal. Some make money by selling things so they have an incentive to keep happy customers. Some companies don’t.

Of course. But companies change all the time - today Apple is very privacy focused and we can reasonably say they wouldn't do such a thing. Can you absolutely guarantee that they won't in 2 years? In 5? in 10? What if the CEO changes and they think that ad-derived value is the best thing ever? Like, this isn't meant to be a post against Apple btw. Just that I don't see a point in saying "company X did a bad thing, th…

To paraphrase: "Some people commit crimes, there is nothing stopping other people committing crimes in the future; therefore everyone is a criminal."
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