Google Play Movies & TV Update Brings Improved Movie Watching Controls

The Google Play Movies & TV app has been updated with several small but important improvements.  The update build, version 3.15 for those keeping score at home, brings improved movie watching controls that are more intuitive and similar to other apps.  Gone is the banner style controls that were on the bottom of the display and it is replaced with a progress style bar that indicates how far along you are in a movie.  To fast forward, simply slide your finger across that progress bar and a single frame will pop up above your finger to show you that scene.  To start playing again, simply lift off the screen.

These new controls are more in line with how other apps such as Netflix and Amazon video work today.  For most users, this new progress bar will seem very natural.  In addition, pausing and

New Progress Bar in Google Play Movies & TV

New Progress Bar in Google Play Movies & TV

playing a moving is now just a screen tap away.  Just tap the main display where you are viewing the movie and it is paused.  Tap it again to resume play.  In the previous version of Google Play Movies & TV, you had to tap to get the banner at the bottom then tap the pause button or play button.  That double-tap requirement is now gone, thankfully.

Outside of this improvement, there isn’t much new to report on the app.  There are a few minor UI tweaks and the app’s banner has changed for Android TV but outside of that, nothing significant to report.

Google Play Movies & TV comes built into most devices these days but if you need to download it, you can do that from the Play Store.  If you do have it installed, this update will come to as an OTA over the course of the next few days.

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