Entertainment Space makes your Android tablet look like a Google TV

Google has announced a new feature for Android tablets that puts greater emphasis on media consumption. Known as Entertainment Space, the feature will show users all their favorite movies, shows, videos, games, and books in one space. The feature will be available on Walmart tablets later this month, with a wider global rollout on select Android tablets made by Lenovo, Sharp, and more.

With Entertainment Space, you’re essentially turning your Android tablet into a portable Google TV. The interface is easy to follow and can integrate with your subscription apps, from Hulu to Discovery+.

“You’ll save time and avoid having to hop between apps to try to figure out what to do, whether it’s to watch, play, or read,” said James Bender, Product Manager at Google Play.

Image: Google

There are three tabs in Entertainment Space: Watch, Games, and Read. Each of the different spaces will show users content specific to that tab. In the Watch tab, you can easily move between your streaming services, see recommended videos on YouTube, find movies and TV shows, and rent or buy from Google TV. There’s also a “continue watching” row where you can pick up from where you left off — even from your Chromecast with Google TV.

The same goes for the Games and Read tabs. You can jump back into your favorite games in the “continue playing” row, or find something new to play in the recommended section. Google said that certain titles support an instant play feature so you can try a game without downloading it. Meanwhile, the Read tab will display all the books you’ve downloaded from Google Play Books. You can even access your audiobooks if you’re not in the mood to read.

A few months ago, @wearetheupdate published a report on a mysterious Google app code-named "Ohana". They later followed-up and reported it would launch as Google Entertainment Space: https://t.co/tG5CYumjmg

Turns out they were right: https://t.co/MzEQLt4BCv

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) May 5, 2021

We actually heard about Entertainment Space back in March in a report from The Update. From what we understand, the new feature likely won’t be an app you download, but a launcher arriving in an update. Google doesn’t specify how users will be able to access Entertainment Space in its announcement, simply calling the feature a “new Android tablet experience.” However, the company later clarified to Android Central‘s Daniel Bader that Entertainment Space will replace Google Discover on the leftmost home screen but that it won’t be the entire home screen.

According to Google, Entertainment Space was designed to improve the content discovery experience and arrives as the company has seen a 30 percent growth in more people starting to use Android tablets compared to the prior year.

The post Entertainment Space makes your Android tablet look like a Google TV appeared first on xda-developers.

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