Google TV (Finally) Matches Key Roku Mobile App Feature with 'Highlights'

ByDaniel Frankelpublished

Seven years after Roku introduced 'My Feed,' new Android update lets Google TV users to track their favorite shows on their phones

Way back in 2015, Roku introduced "My Feed," a mobile companion app feature that let smart phone users know when and where their favorite shows are streaming so they can make viewing plains before sitting down in front of their smart TVs.

Pretty, pretty good.

Google, which is working quickly to catch up to Roku in the global connected TV OS arms race, has finally matched -- or perhaps even surpassed -- Roku with the latest round of Android updates.

The new "Highlights" feature, which is now the first tab in the updated Google TV mobile app, operates like a Google News feed, providing news, reviews and talent interviews tied to the latest and greatest in video streaming.

Using this information, Android users can add the show to their Watchlist, whereby the app will tell them when and where the shows they want to watch are streaming within their specific configuration of streaming services.

Think of it as a more actionable iteration of legacy feature Google Discovery, that previously just had the news and reviews component.

Highlights remains confined to Android mobile OS users, at least for now.

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm.

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