Megan Ellis / Android Authority
I recently switched my streaming box from an older Android TV device to one with the latest version of Google TV. I’ve never been very fussy about my streaming device’s interface, so long as it works, is responsive, and allows me to easily access the apps I use to watch movies and shows.
But I was pleasantly surprised when the Google TV device prompted me to set specific albums from my Google Photos account for my screensaver — a feature that has quickly become one of my favorites.
What is your favorite Google TV feature?
10 votes
The content discovery hub.
0%
Personal watchlists.
0%
Screensavers from Google Photos.
30%
Casting from other devices.
50%
Something else (let us know in the comments).
20%
No more generic screensavers
Megan Ellis / Android Authority
The screensaver feature on streaming devices is nothing new, but I’ve never really paid much attention to it due to the general lack of personalization. Some smart TVs allow you to select themes for your screensaver, while certain Samsung TVs allow you to set an ambient mode that uses photos from your albums.
However, I don’t really want to go through the process of setting up additional apps and services (like SmartThings) to enable one feature.
Screensavers have been around a while, but usually require additional apps or lack personalization. This was different.
But something I noticed when using my Google TV device was how easy it was to link my existing Google services. So when it prompted me to use Google Photos, an app I already use that stays with me across devices, I decided to try it out. And I’m glad I did.
If you haven’t set it up for yourself, you can access it by going to the side settings menu and selecting Screensaver. You can then select the Google Photos option and select which albums you want to use.
These screensavers make me enjoy my TV in a whole new way
Megan Ellis / Android Authority
When I set up which albums to use to for my screensavers, I selected my Favorites and various albums related to my cats. My pets are one of the reasons I now care about smartphone camera specs, and I try to capture as many memories of them as possible.
I have some albums dedicated to them: “Best of BV”, “Best of Loxi”, and “Loxi staring”. These albums include particularly cute or rare moments I’ve captured, including a photo of BV I captured just before she sneezed. For the Loxi staring album, it’s a series of images of him spying on me from across the apartment, through hallways — and sometimes even using a mirror to keep an eye on me.
It’s the kind of personal inside joke that brings me more joy than a million generic images of trees ever could. This kind of personalization is why I think it works so well as a feature.
I discovered the joy of the screensaver feature when I paused series to quickly proofread a story after dinner or to catch up with messages on my phone.
The ability to select specific albums has allowed me to rediscover joyful images I had forgotten about.
The screensavers appear after about 15 minutes and over time it has cycled through some absolutely brilliant images. There are plenty of photos I’d forgotten about in those albums, and using them as screensavers helped be rediscover them.
It also let me see some of my best travel photos I had saved in my favorites album. I usually only revisit these albums when I’m planning on printing one out or sharing a particular photo. That’s how the original collections started.
But using them as screensavers on my TV has given me another way to enjoy them.
Megan Ellis / Android Authority
It has also encouraged me to re-engage with Google Photos a bit, as I’ve been neglecting my photo sorting. I haven’t really been printing and sharing photos as much, partly because I’ve run out of photo frames and I don’t go out as much as I used to. Even heading out to my apartment building’s park or my garden on summer days is a challenge due to my worsening migraines.
Screensavers aren’t going to suddenly make bright light and hot weather more tolerable, but they do give me more motivation to look for the hidden gems hiding in my many photos. Google Photos has also made it easier to add images to albums, so this gives me the motivation to try out the improved flow.
The feature has also encouraged me to sort through my Google Photos pictures a bit more, to find more gems.
I don’t really care about features like Gemini on Google TV or even the content discovery hub the platform provides. In fact, I am concerned about Google’s focus on injecting generative AI into the platform and attempts to monetize it through advertising. Even the screensaver feature I love also has an option for AI-generated pictures, which I don’t plan to touch with a ten-foot pole.
That said, it’s nice to see quality-of-life features I actually enjoy. I haven’t been able to use the watch list feature because it relies on Google Search, and I’ve been using Brave as my primary search engine for the last few months after growing frustrated with Google’s sponsored results and AI summaries.
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The central hub for shows and movies also isn’t much use to me, because I generally only use one streaming platform at a time as a way to save on subscription fees since most apps instituted a password-sharing crackdown.
However, it would be unfair not to give Google its due for introducing helpful features that are genuinely useful. Not requiring an app download to set up a Google TV device is one way the experience has improved.
And while the Google Photos screensavers are perhaps a niche benefit, I do hope to see more user-oriented features introduced to Google TV.
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