Open the Play Store on your TV and you’ll see the same names on repeat. Netflix, YouTube, Disney+. You know the drill. But the most underrated Android TV apps are rarely on the banner. They sit three screens down, with a plain icon and a modest install count, doing one job really well. So this is a list of apps you actually use, not apps that look nice in a screenshot. Some are free. A couple cost a few dollars. None needed a big marketing budget to earn a spot.
Why Most Android TV Home Screens Look the Same
Google has said well over 100 million active devices run Android TV or Google TV, and the store holds thousands of apps. Yet most people open maybe five of them. Nielsen reported in 2025 that streaming passed broadcast and cable combined for the first time, reaching about 44.8% of all TV time. We watch more through apps than ever. We just rarely look past the obvious ones.
Before any extra app, though, one thing changes the whole picture: location. Catalogs differ from country to country, and some shows vanish the moment you travel. A good Android TV VPN app, VeePN’s for example, can route your connection through another region, and it sometimes helps when a provider slows down streaming in the evening. The Play Store lists plenty of VPN apps for TV, so pick one with a remote-friendly interface and a clear no-logs policy. Use it for privacy and travel, and follow each service’s terms.
Projectivy Launcher: A Home Screen Without the Ads
The stock launcher on many boxes pushes sponsored rows at you. Projectivy Launcher replaces it with something calmer. You choose which apps appear and in what order, and you can switch recommendations off completely.
Wallpapers, row layouts, even the clock style can change. It’s the first thing worth installing on a fresh device, because the home screen finally feels like yours instead of an ad board.
Button Mapper: Give Your Remote a Second Life
Your remote has keys that do nothing useful. The colored ones, the odd star button. Button Mapper lets you assign each of them to something real: launch an app, open a menu, jump to an input. A long press can open Plex. A double tap can open settings. Setup takes about two minutes. Sounds minor? Count how many clicks it saves in a week.
Send Files to TV: The Cable You Stopped Hunting For
Moving a video or PDF from phone to TV used to mean cables, USB sticks and a bit of swearing. Send Files to TV works over your home Wi-Fi instead. Install it on both devices, pick the file, tap send. That’s it. It works with laptops too. Nobody opens it for its looks, but it solves a real, irritating problem in about ten seconds.
Aerial Views: Because Idle Screens Deserve Better
Aerial Views replaces the default screensaver with slow, high-quality footage of cities, coastlines and space. It’s pure decoration, sure. But a TV spends hours idle, and a calm shoreline beats a logo bouncing around a black screen. It can show the time too, if you want it to.
Downloader: Powerful, and Worth Handling Carefully
Downloader is a tiny browser and file grabber built for TV remotes. Plenty of people use it to install apps that aren’t in the Play Store, and that’s exactly where trouble starts. Stick to official developer pages. A random APK from a random forum is how malware gets in, so check the file name and size before you install anything.
A small habit helps: do the research on a laptop, not on the TV. If you’re on cafe or hotel Wi-Fi while you do it, a VPN free extension for Chrome adds a layer of privacy to that browsing session. Keep expectations realistic, though.
VLC and Jellyfin: Your Own Library, Your Own Rules
VLC isn’t glamorous. It plays nearly any format you throw at it, odd subtitles and ancient AVI files included, without asking for a codec pack. Jellyfin goes further. It’s an open-source media server, so you stream your own movies, music and photos from a home computer to the TV. No subscription, no company holding your library hostage.
Tubi and Kanopy: Free Streaming That Isn’t Junk
Tubi is free and ad-supported, and its catalog runs to tens of thousands of titles, from old classics to cult horror. Kanopy works differently. You sign in with a public library card or a university account and get arthouse cinema and documentaries at no cost. Availability depends on your library, so check before you get excited.
The Short List
Here’s the whole lot in one place:
• Projectivy Launcher: a clean, ad-free home screen
• Button Mapper: shortcuts for dead remote keys
• Send Files to TV: wireless file transfers
• Aerial Views: a better screensaver
• Downloader: grab files with just the remote
• VLC: plays nearly everything
• Jellyfin: your own media server
• Kanopy: free films through your library
How to Decide What Stays
Here’s a simple rule for keeping your own list honest.
If you haven’t opened an app in a month, it doesn’t deserve a spot on your home screen.
Cheap boxes often ship with just 8 GB of storage, and the system takes a big bite of that. Every idle app costs space and sometimes speed. Review your apps every few months. Delete what’s idle. Keep what earns its place.
Final Thoughts
The most underrated Android TV apps aren’t secrets. They’re just quiet. They don’t shout in the store, and they don’t need to. Try two of them this week, say Projectivy and Button Mapper, and see whether they stick. The apps you actually use will reveal themselves within days. Everything else is clutter with a nice logo.
