My BRAVIA TV came stock with Android 7.0 and I've gotten used to this row-like navigation.
However, that's an old version and it's 2019.
Happy Holidays!
I have an Android TV device with Pie (v9) and Oreo (v8) and can't really tell any difference between the two either visually or performance wise. I just starting using them about a month ago, but like them better than the Roku's that they replaced.
For TV’s the best Android TV version is Pie 9.0 because it’s been optimised and bug busted to run on resource constrained TV chipsets. After that Oreo 8.0 is pretty decent too - so - long as the device has a reasonable chipset to run the OS upon.
For Sony TV’s, Pie will only run in the new 2019 TV’s with Much more powerful MediaTek chipsets in them. (Not the A8G)
That combo is what Android TV running on a Smart TV should have looked like and performed all along.
Every other Android TV Smart TV is slower and laggier.
I actually preferred that version of the stock launcher you still have. Some people like the update @ Pie, but I hate it. Two rows of apps is now one and with smaller tiles. The top widget has been replaced with "channels" you can add below the app row, but they dont always work and many of the supported apps only allow you to add their recommended stuff vs your own watchlist. The auto-background color changer throws up some really ugly colors too...like pea soup and dirty baby diaper colors.
On the good side @ Pir stock launcher - you can customize your own app rows and add them as "channels" to the homescreen via the Sideload Channel Launcher app, or just change the default launcher on Nvidia Shield and customize it the way you like it, which is what I did.
It depends on which TV set-top box you need. In general, you can see everything here for yourself SwitchOnShop A very good store where you can order everything calmly
You’ll love Pie with something like a Shield, its resolved the stability issues I had with Hulu and is so much faster in comparison to my X900F and X950G.
Ive been using AndroidTV since it’s inception and I’d say it wasn’t a serious contender until 8. 9 has definitely shown a lot of people that it’s now on par or better than the AppleTV. AndroidTV 9 is also optimized for under-powered SOCs.
So, I’d say Pie is the best version and will make it the most used platform as it offers stability and the features needed for major pay tv set-top box adoption. Almost every single IPTV and traditional cable company is releasing some type of AndroidTV box from Arris and LG in 2020, from Dish to CenturyLink, even Comcast.