An introduction to what you have to think about when desinging or migrating an existing app to run on new Android TV devices. The presentation looks at the general guidelines, patterns, and anti-patterns, as well as provides an introduction to the Android TV Leanback library.

1. Migrating to Android TV
Design tips for Android TV
CodeMash 2015
David Carver
Gplus: +David Carver
Twitter: @kingargyle
https://github.com/NineWorlds/serenity-android

2. What constitutes Android TV
Internet Enabled Devices running Android 3.2 or
Higher.
2nd
Screen/Remote Control/Game Pad support
Ment to be used primarily with a TV.

3. Google TV Boxes

4. Android TV

5. Televisions

6. Other Android Based Devices

7. Why Design for TV???

8. I had an Itch that Needed Scratched
● Existing TV UIs were frustrating to use with a
Remote
● Wanted to learn Android Development and
seemed like a good thing to do at the time.
● Tired of TV Apps getting second class
treatment.
● Apps designed for TV don't need to SUCK!!

9. Android apps running on a TV
sucked because Developers let
them suck!

10. Myth: A Tablet App will work fine on
a TV!
The truth...Maybe
An app designed for Landscape mode on a tablet
may work, but the user experience will probably
suffer.

11. Failure Points
● The app may run, but will probably provide a
frustrating user experience.
● These apps are designed for Touch and
typically do not take into account other ways to
interact with the app.
● Using a Mouse is frustrating on the TV. If the
user has to use the mouse pointer, it is a
design failure.
● Need to design with the TV environment or
Accessibility in mind.

12. Why not just Chromecast
Everything?
● You need a Phone/Tablet/PC that supports it.
● Not everybody likes having to use a
Phone/Tablet as a second screen device.
● Not everybody has a supported Chromecast
device.
● Some prefer using a Remote. It's familiar.
● Limited to very basic playback or interaction.
Not designed for more complicated
applications and interactions.

13. Guidelines?
We don't need no stinking
guidelines!

15. Android TV / Fire TV / OUYA
Design Guidelines
● Design for D-PAD not for Touch interface
● Avoid the use of the Mouse or Touchpad.
● Emphasize obvious items that can be selected
or interacted with.
● Back Button should exit or take back to
previous screen.
● Give visual indicators when more information
is provided off screen (i.e. scrolling required)
● Compensate for Overscan on TVs

16. Visually Appealing
● Design with Visual Appeal
– Apps are going to be in people's living rooms.
– TVs are ment to be visual displays
– You want the wow factor to help bring people
back.
– However it needs to be simple and functional.
● Limit the number of clicks that a person has to
get to anything on the screen.
– The fewer the clicks the better.

17. Visually Appealing
● Prefer darker themes.
– Lighter themes tend to be to bright and harder to
read
– TV Brightness varies greatly, and depends on
room environments.
● Leanback or Holo themes and color schemes
work well.

18. Android TV Leanback Library

19. Patterns and Anti Patterns

20. Zones
Design with Zones in mind.

21. Anti Pattern
D-Pad Navigation can't skip zones. The long scrolling list in the
center has to be navigated through to get to the bottom zone.

22. You can make this Work
Limit the center content to Detail information or focusable items that
don't scroll. This allows navigation through the zone quickly.

23. Google Recommends Vertical
Zones

24. Create Quick Navigation Keys
● Provide ways to Navigate quickly through long
lists.
● Provide ways to get back to the top of a list
quickly.
● To get to the bottom quickly.
● Break Long Lists into separate screens.
● Provide Filtering/Search to narrow scope of
items.
● Devices may have Bluethooth enabled
keyboards or remotes with keybads
connected.

25. Remember to Focus

26. Focus
Focus will be the most important and time
consuming aspect of your app. Getting
Focus and the navigation around on screen
focusable items is just as important if not
more important than the look of the app.
Android TV Leanback support library provides
this for free in many cases.

27. Avoid the Card Design with
Embeddable Clickable Items.

28. Avoid the Embedded Clickable Item
If you do this, make sure
a person can navigate to
it! There is no touch
screen, and if they have
to resort to a mouse
pointer you have failed in
your design and user
experience.

29. Prefer Android TV Leanback Cards

30. Horizontal Zone Pattern

31. Horizontal 2 Zone Pattern

32. Horizontal Two Zone, Horizontal
Grid Scroll View

33. Horizontal Grid Views
Android TV Leanback

34. Horizontal 3 Zone Pattern

35. Horizontal 3 Zone. Zone 2 and 3 are
Side Scrolling

36. Avoid Content that Scrolls Vertically
in Zone 2!
In general avoid vertical scrolling with
horizontal layouts.

37. Horizontal Zone Pattern
With Sliding Menu

38. Horizontal 3 Zone with Sliding Menu

39. Text and Icons
● Provide large readable fonts.
● Screen space is at a premium. Even at
1920x1080p.
– User is sitting about 10ft away so need to make
text and fonts legible from that distance.
– Set up your Google TV development device from
that distance.

40. General UI Consideration
● TVs are always at least layout-large and
layout-landscape-notouch resources.
● Drawables are HDPI resolution or higher.
● TV's are always Landscape.
● Darker themes are easier to view than lighter.
● TV Apps should be Full Screen Apps. The
app will be used on the largest most popular
device in the house. Give it that special
treatment.
● Keep your design consistent. Stick with either
Vertical or Horizontal pattern throughout the

41. Android TV Leanback Features
● Support Library with Android Lollipop designed
for TVs.
– BrowseFragment
– SearchFragment
– DetailsFragment
– PlaybackOverlayFragment
● Provides support back to API 17 Jelly Bean
devices.
● Layouts are optimized for TVs by providing a
10% margin on all sides. TVs have overscan.

42. Android TV Leanback Features
● Contribute Recommendations to the Android
TV Leanback Launcher via a Service.
● Provide in App Voice Search
● Contribute Global Search Results via a
Content Provider
● Model – View – Presenter
– ObjectAdapter
– Presenter
– RecycleView
– Fragments responsible for Click Events

43. AndroidManifest.xml
● RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED – if your app
provides recommendations.
● RECORD_AUDIO – for in App Voice Search
● TOUCHSCREEN – false – signifies that this
app is designed to run devices that don't
require a touch screen.

44. Leanback Launcher
Necessary otherwise the app will not
show up on the Android TV Launcher

45. Leanback Theme
● Activities that support Leanback must extend
from the Theme.Leanback theme. This helps
optimize the activity and layouts for the TV.

46. Leanback Recommendations
● Intent Service that is scheduled to provide
Recommendations to the Leanback Launcher
● Launched after Boot is completed.
● Uses Notification Manager
● Content Providers for background images for
cards

47. Voice Search
● Extend SearchFragment
● Create a CardPresenter
● Create a Layout for Search that includes the
custom search fragment.
● Override onSearchRequested – the built in
Search provider is disabled in Android TV
devices.

48. Dog Food your App
● Get an Android Smart TV, Amazon Fire TV, or
OUYA device and test your app there.
– Screen resolutions will vary due to Overscan
● Use your own App. If you get frustrated,
others will.
● Test both for Touch and for various controller
inputs. Remote, Game Controller, Voice
– Not all Remotes are created equal
– Not all Game Controllers are mapped the same.

49. Remember to Focus
android:focusable="true"
android:focusableInTouchMode="true"
android:descendantFocusability="afterDescendants"
android:nextFocusDown="@+id/mainGalleryMenu"
android:nextFocusUp="@+id/menu_button"
android:nextFocusRight="@+id/mainGalleryMenu"
android:nextFocusLeft="@+id/mainGalleryMenu">
● View.requestFocus()
● View.requestFocusFromTouch()
● View.requestFocus(int direction)
● Remember to specifically set focus when hiding
and showing off screen views (i.e Sliding Menu
Drawers)

50. KeyCode Events
● Android supports a wide variety of Media Key
Codes
– Play, Skip Forward, Pause, Stop, Skip Back
● Channel Up and Channel Down make good
Page Up and Page Down alternatives for
quick navigation.
● Remember many Android TVs do have
keyboards in the remote. Provide keyboard
short cuts for your app.

51. Context Menus
● Use Context Menus to provide context
sensitive information.
– Don't use the Action Bar especially with Grid or
Scrollable contentl. Prefer LeftNav pattern.
– Beware of the dreaded onItemLongClick bug with
Remotes and Game Controllers. It'll fire both Click
and Long Click events.
● Give option to map Menu key to context menu
● Provide alternatives to bring up context menu
● Don't embed your context menus into clickable
drop down menus in cards or list items!!!
– Users need to reach for mouse or touch pad.
Automatic failure at this point.

52. What About Testing???
Come to the talk on Friday
Unit Testing Android without Going Bald!
You can use existing Testing Tools to Test your
Android TV applications.

53. Code Examples
How do you do it???

54. Android TV Leanback Resources
● https://github.com/googlesamples/androidtv-
leanback – sample application that
implements most Android TV Leanback
functionality.
● https://developer.android.com/training/tv/start/i
ndex.html – Examples and guidelines for
implementing Recommendations and In App
Search.
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=72K1VhjoL98 – DevBytes Using Android TV
Leanback