The Google TV app finally makes its way to the iPhone for all your streaming needs

News
By Michael L Hicks
published

iPhone owners can curate their Watchlist and check Highlights on their phone instead of with a Chromecast remote.

Google TV on iOS
(Image credit: Google)

What you need to know

  • The Google TV app is now available on iOS.
  • Google's current Play Movies & TV iOS app will automatically update to become Google TV.
  • Watchlist, recommendations, ratings, highlights, and Assistant are all porting over from Android to iOS.

Google TV's personalized show recommendations are no longer exclusive to Android devices. On Wednesday, Google shuttered the Play Movies & TV iOS app and replaced it with the new Google TV iOS app.

iPhone owners can now list their favorite streaming apps and receive personalized recommendations of what to watch across them. They can also manage their Google TV watchlist and use their phone as a remote on Google TV devices like Chromecast with Google TV or Android TV sets.

Google frequently makes its apps available on iOS, making Google TV's prior absence notable. It ensured Chromecast owners with iPhones couldn't easily check and manage recommendations except on their TV sets.

Google TV on iOS

(Image credit: Google)

Google's announcement post explains that both iOS and Android users will be able to check personalized recommendations, add shows and films to their Watchlist, rate content to improve recs, check their personalized Highlights — a brand new feature on the Android app — and use your phone as a remote to control your Android TV. It's unclear if this feature will differ from how you use an Android phone to control it.

We also aren't sure yet how far the Google TV iOS app lags behind the Android app in new features, though the inclusion of Highlights is a good sign. Google has made some significant updates to the app in recent weeks, including personalized profiles and unique screensavers based on your Watchlist.

Google has also promised it will let you cast from Android phones to the Google TV app on televisions, so we can hope you'll be able to do the same from your iPhone.

If you want to start building up your Google TV profile, you can download the Google TV iOS app at that link.

Chromecast with Google TV dongle and remote

Chromecast with Google TV

Affordable Google TV on any set

Chromecast with Google TV offers 4K HDR10+ streaming and Dolby Atmos / Vision at an affordable price, either through native apps or via casting. Plus, you get all of Google's smarts as it recommends shows and films to watch across all of your favorite apps. It was harder to recommend to iPhone owners before, but the Google TV iOS app means you can better curate results.

Michael L Hicks
Michael L Hicks
Senior Editor, VR/AR and fitness

Michael is Android Central's resident expert on fitness tech and wearables, with an enthusiast's love of VR tech on the side. After years freelancing for Techradar, Wareable, Windows Central, Digital Trends, and other sites on a variety of tech topics, AC has given him the chance to really dive into the topics he's passionate about. He's also a semi-reformed Apple-to-Android user who loves D&D, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings.


For wearables, Michael has tested dozens of smartwatches from Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung, Apple, COROS, Polar, Amazfit, and other brands, and will always focus on recommending the best product over the best brand. He's also completed marathons like NYC, SF, Marine Corps, Big Sur, and California International — though he's still trying to break that 4-hour barrier.