Google confirms it is ending support for the old Android TV remote app as it disappears from the Play Store

Google lost visibility of the Play Store’s “old” Android TV remote app, following the rollout of the new Google TV app-based solution, which landed last week. For many, the Android TV Remote Control app listing no longer appears on the Play Store desktop site or when browsing the list through an external link in the Play Store app on mobile. With Google recently rolling out a method that replaces the old app, we have to assume the deletion was intentional, and Google confirms to us that it is ending support for the old app.

Dropped out both on the Play Store app (above) and on the site (below) for accounts that haven’t downloaded it before.

Your experience may vary – for some of us at Android Police, the list of apps keeps popping up, although it doesn’t follow the usual rules in this kind of situation for everyone. Typically, when an app is no longer publicly visible but still technically available, those who previously downloaded it can still access and reinstall it. At least one of us at Android Police isn’t able to do that. However, others still see the app and can reinstall it (but not from the Play Store desktop site).

We cannot accurately determine when the visibility of the app changed, but we can confirm that this happened after August 1.

Google recently rolled out a new app-based remote control through the Google TV app, which was long overdue and even teased by the company ahead of its release. Given the timing, we can’t help but assume that this change in visibility for the “old” method must be related. What is particularly curious, however, is that not everyone has been able to reliably use the new remote control yet. Some of the software components it is based on appear to be still in the process of being deployed, so this change in visibility for the old application might be a bit premature.

The new Google TV remote control.

We contacted Google for more information on removing the Android TV remote from the Play Store, and the company has provided us with the following statement:

“We make the experience of using your phone as a virtual remote control faster to access and easier to use by upgrading the user interface and integrating functionality directly into the Android mobile operating system as well as the Google TV app. After the new remote control functionality is widely available, the Android TV remote app will no longer be supported and available for use. This transition will occur once the Android TV OS device is released. a user will receive Android remote service: 5.0. or higher. “

It is not clear from the details provided that the Play Store visibility change is intentional, but the company explains that the old app will soon lose support, which this type of visibility change is often tied to, and that customers are being pushed. to the new (and frankly much better) solution.