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

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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.