Best apps for Android TV?

by Rundown_Codger

Hi, I have just bought my first Android TV which comes with inbuilt app like Youtube and Netflix.

I am an app freak when it comes to my smartphone. What apps should I install on my TV now ?

rrrmmmrrrmmm

There are some wonderful emulators. You might look into Dolphin Emu if you fancy modern Nintendo games. But you might have to sideload the Dolphin apk (more infos in the official forum) .

nowhereman136

Tubi, Pluto, and Crackle are free streaming apps (stream with ads). Not a great selection but still free. I enjoy throwing on James Bond movies on Pluto for some background noise.

Emby and Plex are apps that allow you to basically set up your own private streaming service with media on your computer. So any movie or music files downloaded to your computer, can be accessed directly on your TV without having to cast. Most people use Plex, I had some issues with it and switched to Emby which seems just as good to me.

Spotify and Pandora are available on Android. Sometimes it's nice to just throw on a Spotify Playlist, it even does lyrics and song trivia when playing on the TV.

ImyForgotName

VLC

Arpit_XD

Mx player, Send files to TV, sideload launcher. Xplore film manager. (From Play Store)

Sideload apk-

Smart YouTube TV

Aptoid TV, Ttorrent lite, popcorn flix, thop tv.

jahb0i

Blokada for adblock and tracking protection

Wheelthis

In my experience, Android TV is very worthwhile, but just for a few popular media apps + Chromecast + casual gaming. Most media apps really aren't worth the bother as they're buggy and poorly maintained. Happy to be corrected on that.

Outside of the above, most apps are of the "tech utility" type, i.e. VPNs, web browsers, hacks to play local files, sideload other Android apps. There's not a ton of polished apps that make the most of the TV experience.

It's hard for apps to be discovered and monetized on Android TV, so I don't think there's a lot of motivation for small developers.

haseebkp

Below are the apps I have on mine.

Plex, Spotify, YouTube , TED, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Haystack TV, Cinema HD v2, prime video, Netflix, MX player, Filelinked, analiti, X-vpn, Kodi

Get filelinked using the browser in analiti. Many youtubers have shared their filelinked code to access their app repository.

gevreyc
  • Kodi
  • Haystack
  • Molotov (french)
ImyForgotName

Snes emulator.

Andriusdude

TVirl for watching M3U TV in Live Channels

Dilshan_77

Hi did you buy the Mi box? If yes how's your experience with it? I'm just looking for a TV box that can play youtube spotify and netflix may be some other streaming services too. I don't wanna play games on it since I already have a gaming PC which I plug into the tv, so share your thoughts about the Mi box S.

venky61

I see that many of the useful Apps are already mentioned here. Here are my top ones,

  1. Send Files to TV- For easy file transfer from any android/windows device to TV.
  2. Photo Gallery And Screen Saver - For Custom Screensaver with photos directly from Google Photos
  3. App usage for Android TV - For Digital Well being and restricting particular app with limited screen usage.
  4. Steam Link- Cast Desktop to TV and play games.
  5. ATV launcher- View sideloaded Apps.
  6. FX file explorer- Ad Free and clean interface.

Hope this helps :)

kane2931

Tivimate for M3U IPTV playlists.

odintsov

TrueConf for video conferencing

brianunfried

Aptoid TV

zedje85

Tivimate premium. Best app for watching IPTV on the MiBox

Princeolivier

I made this free app works for live channels only for the news channels uploaded on playstore so waiting for publication but you can sideload it for now and will auto update with playstore once its ready

App called NewsHub Newshub

r3ddt2

Is there a working firewall app like AFWall+ for Android TV?

Rishi_Uttam

Google Live Channels is pretty good with haystack tv. then you can add your own iptv m3u list via a iptv app.

jrrocketrue

I think everyone with an Android TV and/or a Firestick should take a look around Troypoint!

https://troypoint.com/

I have a few Android TV boxes now and a MiBox but my 2 first APPS are either ProtonVPN or OpenVPN with ProtonVPN configuration files and the Troypoint Rapid App!

elister

Kodi, for when you have a media collection and dont want to run a dedicated server (Plex & Emby) to view its content and would rather stream from a USB port on your router or connect directly to your Android TV (MiBox S or Shield has USB).

NOTE: I like Haystack and NBC News.

ffrraannccoo

Stremio: Streaming movies from torrent.

X-plore File Manager: Best File Manager for TV. Support SMB, Cloud storage, etc.

RetroArch: FrontEnd for almost every emulator for Android.

Set-Orientation: Rotate apps not made for TV.

mrwalrus18

Catmouse, CyberFlix, UnlockmyTV, Mobdro (All these apps are better than all those other comments😅🤷)

mahdif62

Stremio

Thick-Wall

CosmiDVR to record, and rewind/fast forward live streams from m3u playlists

Slayerkodi

Blokada, BBC iPlayer, ITV hub, All 4, My 5, TV player, Smart YouTube TV, MX player, Xplore manager (must have), Call of duty mobile (connected using Xbox one or ps4 controller, clicking through the menus with vysor or scrcpy)

escortgoj

if you want youtube without ads: https://vanced.app/

MuhtarCx
  • Tvzion in combination with MX Player
  • Send Files To Tv, send files to tv via same app on android or pc, ideal for sideloading apps
  • File Explorer, from Anker. Minimalistic, not a lot of options, no adds, clean. Install apps you transferred via previous app.
  • Airscreen, screenmirror for ios
  • Youtube Kids
djkac

ZionTV