Several outlets, including Cord Cutters News, are reporting that DIRECTV plans to roll out a new user interface for its internet products including the DIRECTV Stream app and the Gemini for Internet/Gemini Air devices. The branded devices will get the interface first and eventually it will roll out to all the supported apps. For now, this is the only image we have:
Analysis
That’s not a lot to go by but it’s enough to tell you that DIRECTV is not immune to peer pressure. Pretty much every streaming app has gone to some variant of this interface, where the background is black and there are icons along the left side. It’s not that it’s a bad choice, but at this point, let’s just say it lacks creativity.
From the looks of it, the company is staying with the same typography they have used for about six years. As an old type guy, I have to mark them down for this, because the version of Frutiger that they use does not kern very well and it’s not terribly attractive. The one thing we’ve seen a lot in recent years is much better typography in apps. DIRECTV could adopt DIN, which is what they use in their advertising, and it would look a lot better. But they haven’t. So that’s my hot take on that.
It’s hard to see if there will be any other real, major changes to the experience since we just have this one screen to go on. But overall I do think it’s a good move even if it’s not an original one. It further separates the Gemini/Gemini Air from the stock Android TV experience.
Speaking of Android TV
Without knowing for sure, I am guessing that this move is driven by the latest changes in Android TV. Android TV and Google TV are essentially the same thing, but Google TV is the branded version that you will find in smart TVs. Android TV is the version that’s offered to manufacturers like DIRECTV. The Google TV home screen just got a mild refresh, moving it slightly away from the way the Gemini home screen looks. This is the latest Google TV home screen, by the way:
If I had to guess, the new home screen is probably driven by a move to a later version of the Android TV OS that underpins Gemini and Gemini Air. Android 14 is starting to roll out to developers, and Android 13 (which launched in February) is just now starting to roll out on embedded devices.
Will DIRECTV Satellite get the new update?
No, I would say DIRECTV satellite is not likely to get updated at this time. There’s some irony in the fact that DIRECTV’s last update actually enabled faster and easier user interface updates but there hasn’t been one since 2018. But why fix what isn’t broken? The satellite service’s customer base tends to skew a little older. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But, it does mean that the people who watch satellite TV are less likely to want change for change’s sake.
Because Gemini for Satellite also runs the Android TV operating system, updating the look and feel wouldn’t be that hard. But then you’d have to contend with the fact that your Geminis looked different from the other Genie clients. Depending on what their marketing data tells them, this could be a way to get people to upgrade from older hardware. Or, it could mean unhappy customers with two user interfaces in the home.
My money is on DIRECTV making only small changes to the satellite service’s interface for a while.
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