If you’re using an Android TV, In this article, we are sharing 7 Android TV apps that you must install. These really cool apps that will take your Android TV experience to the next level if you’re using an Android TV or Google TV, you’re in for a treat.
ATV tools
The first app on our list is ATV Tools, and this one app is single-handedly doing the job of a lot of different apps, and that too, really well. First of all, this app lets you manage files, upload files to your TV, and even let you sideload apks if you want to. You can also see all the apps installed on your TV right here, where you can control app permissions, disable certain apps, or even uninstall them. Plus, if you tap here, you’ll see the apps running in the background, and you can simply force stop them to make your TV run smoother because Android TVs are never generous when it comes to RAM and storage, unlike smartphones. You also get full-fledged remote control within this app, and it works perfectly fine. And lastly, you can take screenshots, clear cache, and even run shell commands. This app does not have any ads, and the free version of the app lets you do almost everything, only uninstalling or force-stopping apps. You have to buy the paid version, but that costs just Rs. 190.
TVOverlay
This is again a very useful app that shows up any notification that you receive on your phone directly on your TV. So if you are watching a movie or a TV show, all your phone notifications and calls will be mirrored directly to your TV, and you will not miss out on anything important.
Dispatch
Now if you don’t find the homepage of your TV intuitive enough, first of all, you are not alone, and secondly, this new launcher will spice things up for you. First of all, it shows recommendations neatly for different apps, and I definitely prefer it that way. You can even pin the favourite apps on the top with the sneak peek option to see the recommendations. Plus, you also get a separate app library where you can see all your apps and games. Nicely organized. The overall UI is much smoother than the default homepage, but there are only 14 days of trial after which you’ll have to pay.
Projectivity Launcher
In case you dont want to pay for a launcher. You can also try out the projectivity launcher, which is completely free, although it doesn’t look as good as dispatch but gets the job done with minimal UI.
Aerial Views Screensaver
This app lets you play super cool 4K aerial videos as your screensaver. You can also select Dolby Vision videos if your TV supports it. Now these videos definitely look super cool compared to the usual static screensavers, but do note that this will consume a lot of data, so select the resolution carefully. By the way, this app also lets you choose videos from your local storage or even NAS. It’s completely free and works really well.
Octohide VPN
If you have been looking to get a free VPN app for your Android TV, don’t worry; I’m not going to judge you. In fact, I was also looking for it because I wanted to see some content that is not available in India, obviously. So octohide is the VPN app that will serve you really well, and it’s completely free. It’s just plug and play; you don’t even have to login, and it has a very good selection of servers throughout the world. I watched a lot of movies and never saw the buffering animation, not even once. It’s pretty good.
Browser
Since you have just got the VPN for your TV, I’d suggest you get a browser as well. Now with the browser that I am suggesting, you can be controlled completely from your phone. You just have to scan the QR code, and you’re good to go. You can type using your phone’s keyboard, enable incognito mode real quick, and can also wipe out entire history with just a tap. By the way, you can also bookmark pages, download files, and even password-protect the browser with a PIN.
Just (Video) Player
VLC Player is the most popular video player, but somehow it just doesn’t work on Android TVs, especially the budget ones. And that’s where the chess player comes in. It’s lightweight and works perfectly fine for playing offline videos. I checked it out with a lot of different video formats, such as MP4 and MkV. It worked without any issues.
LocalSend
Now there’s one more app that you must have on your TV. It’s local send, and it lets you transfer files from any of your devices to your TV, be it a Windows laptop, Android phone, iPhone, Mac, or even Linux nux. And the best part is that it works much better than sending files to TV. In fact, we have been using it extensively for transferring files from one device to another, and this app works without any issues.