in a Android TV This is a built-in branch of Android that basically offers the ability to use various compatible Android apps right on your Smart TV. Sideloading is no longer rocket science, but unfortunately in most cases apps installed this way won’t appear on the home screen. An alternative launcher can fix this problem very easily.
A few days ago, we showed you how sending files to TV can be used to transfer files and apps to Smart TV, so in theory many well-known apps from smartphones or tablets can be installed on Smart TV. Each user has to decide for himself what it is for. In some cases, this is certainly very convenient and there is no reason why some apps are not normally available in the Google Play Store for TVs.
Unfortunately, sideloading has two small drawbacks: the app does not update through the Play Store, and due to the Play Store block and a missing icon, it does not appear on the screen of home of the Smart TV operating system. All installed apps should be started via sideloading through settings and the list of all available apps. That’s okay and doesn’t really take long, but it’s still an unnecessary inflection that you might want to spare on TV.
With Sideload Launcher, you can save this lap, as you only need one extra step to launch apps. It is a very simple launcher based on Android TV which offers all the applications installed on the usual network and can be started by tapping on the icon. Just like I’m used to with pitchers.
Since Sideload Launcher itself is available on the Play Store, it shows up on the Android TV home screen and is therefore easily accessible. Basically, the launcher displays all available apps so that you can use it to launch all other apps as well. It’s not exactly fancy, but it gets the job done and starts the apps – that’s where you’re done. The installed apps are sorted alphabetically, but if you don’t install a lot of apps, you can still see the ZZYYYXX app (no, it’s not there) without scrolling.
Give it a try, the launcher is free and saves you some unnecessary intermediate steps to start the downloaded apps on the TV. For more options related to the app, such as uninstalling, you should always go to settings.
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