Google TV’s screensaver is nice, but where oh where is my native Photos app?

One of my favorite Google TV features is undoubtedly the screensaver. Wait, isn’t that just a logo bouncing around a screen? Not quite. Ambient Mode, as it’s officially called, can display images from sources such as NASA, Getty, and Google Arts & Culture. It prevents screen burn-in while transforming my TV into an art gallery. It’s brilliant, but it has one talent that makes it even more valuable.

It can showcase images from my Google Photos library and albums, many of which contain deeply cherished memories of my travels. The feature is so good, in fact, that I often find myself fumbling around trying to open the Google Photos app on my TV, only to remember that this isn’t possible.

That was the good; now let me address the bad. For some undiscernible reason, there is still no official Google Photos app for Google TV, and it’s about time the company addresses this obvious shortcoming.

“But you CAN view your photos on Google TV, so what’s the problem?” is the company’s probable argument, but I just can’t agree with that point of view. The current methods of accessing my photos simply can’t emulate the broad usability and functionality of a dedicated app.

As I’ve mentioned, Ambient Mode is a great feature, but it’s a screensaver. Its primary purpose is to prevent pixel burn-in on my TV, not to allow me to flick through specific albums. The fact that a screensaver is the best way to browse Google Photos on a TV highlights the platform’s problem.

There are other methods to view Photos content on Google TV, but they’re far clunkier than they need to be.

Let’s start with the first: casting photos from the Android app to my TV.

We’re on our phones practically all hours of the day, so it stands to reason that sending images from the Photos app would be the easiest solution, right? Not quite. This method is far more unreliable than I could ever wish for. Perhaps it’s because my Chromecast with Google TV is connected via Ethernet, but my phone often can’t detect the streamer to cast content. My situation is probably one that few users face, but it highlights a potential flaw that an app could easily fix.

Then there’s the other option: using Google’s fancy search functionality to pull up photos and albums.

Google claims I can use Gemini voice commands on my remote to search for photos on my account, but there are so many roadblocks preventing me from even trying. For one, I don’t yet have Gemini on my Chromecast with Google TV. Secondly, I’m not in the US. With these two prerequisites not met, I can’t even test this Google-endorsed method.

Annoyingly, there’s a real dearth of third-party alternatives and methods. Kodi and its Google Photos add-on are often mentioned on forums, but it’s deprecated. I’m not sure how confident I’d be lending my Google Photos data and credentials to any other unofficial platform or app, either.

Given the issues with the current options and the lack of alternatives, the most sensible way to use Google Photos on Google TV would be via a dedicated app.

The benefits of a native portal are obvious. I’d have a direct way to access my saved albums and photos — no search or casting required, no worry about a dropped connection or whether Gemini understood my search query. It would also (hopefully) offer access to Photos’ Android app features, including Collections navigation, content search, and other organization options. I’d appreciate using my much larger TV display to view photos and decide which to keep or delete. I’m sure other Google TV users feel the same way.

Accessing content as fundamental as my Photos libraries shouldn’t be this difficult on a platform designed to showcase personal content. And looking at Google TV’s rivals, the company is lagging behind in this regard.

Apple’s tvOS offers users a dedicated Photos app with a broad feature set. It even allows users to create custom slide shows of curated images, rather than Ambient Screensaver’s random selection from albums method. Even Amazon Fire TVs offer a built-in photo viewing experience.

Look, overall, I do enjoy using Google TV. It’s a reliable platform that’s open to customization, supports a wide range of content and services, and is easy to use. Then there are the visual flourishes, like Ambient Screensaver, that transform my TV into a wonderful dopamine dispenser. I’d like nothing more than to really take full advantage of it, portal into the memories, dig through those albums, enjoy them on a large display, and make plans to create even more. However, one of the world’s most prolific app developers, Google, just doesn’t see a Photos app on TV as important as injecting Gemini into everything.

Hopefully, the company reviews its priorities, but given that we still haven’t received a dedicated YouTube Music app for TV either, I probably shouldn’t hold my breath.