Chromecast with Google TV's cluttered home screen is finally getting cleaned up

(Image credit: Future)

The Chromecast with Google TV 4K is one of the best streaming devices out there. In fact, it’s our favorite that wasn’t made by Roku. But the home screen was so frustrating that our own streaming editor stopped using it after a month.

In a blog post, Google announced that it is revamping the design of its maligned home page. The Movies and Shows menus that used to appear as tabs at the top of the home page? They’re gone, having moved down to the middle of the page underneath the 'Continue watching' row of your 'For you' page. These changes have already begun rolling out globally.

This feels like a no-brainer for Google, though some will likely miss having the tabs at the top. But for a lot of people, the top menu felt cluttered with tabs to the point where it was unusable, including two of our team here at Tom’s Guide.

Our security editor also tried to switch to the Chromecast with Google TV and found that its clutter and bloat had him longing for his Chromecast Ultra and its minimalist designs. Google’s new approach will hopefully assuage those concerns and maybe even win some converts, but at the very least existing users should get a more pleasant experience and cleaner user interface.

Google TV update: What else is changing

Google TV new user interface — (Image credit: Google)

Movies and Shows aren’t the only shortcuts coming to the refreshed home page, which now only has four tabs: For you, Live, Apps and Library. Next to Movies and Shows shortcuts, in the middle of the For you page, you’ll also find shortcuts to the Family and Español sections.

Family is a new curated page, showing a collection of new releases and existing content that is rated PG or lower, so the entire family can watch. There is also still a separate 'Kids' profile that allows kids to access content specifically for them, but this new page is aimed at the entire family.

Meanwhile, the Español button brings you to a hub for everything Spanish-language from your apps and live TV. The curated page includes access to everything from popular Spanish-language apps — Google specifically mentions Pantaya and FlixLatino — to subbed and dubbed TV shows and movies.

These changes have already started rolling out globally, so if you already have a Chromecast with Google TV device they may already be live for you. If not, just stay tuned for the changes to hit your device. And if you don’t have a Chromecast with Google TV 4K don’t worry — these changes are also coming to the Chromecast with Google TV HD and all the Google TV smart TVs.

Malcolm McMillan is a senior writer for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it. Previously, Malcolm had been a staff writer for Tom's Guide for over a year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), A/V tech and VR headsets.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.