We made an Android TV app to bring instant photography to your device

by mfllc

Hi there TV peeps. I'm with a small company of software devs (there are two of us) from Augusta GA. We typically make smartphone apps but we wanted to expand our skillset and decided to make an app for Android TVs. I'm sharing this here since all ya'll likely have the hardware to give this a try.

Let me be super upfront here, this is a free app, no ads or anything. We are trying to get better with this platform and really looking to work with users and get feedback to know what is working and what could be done better, what features to add etc. This is not a sales pitch.

Okay, so hopefully that clear that. The app is called ZenPic. It is a photography app that displays colorful scenic images that transition over time. At the moment that is all it does. Really simple.

I have spent quite a bit of time researching what is already out there and most of the Android TV photography apps I have seen are for displaying personal photos. So if you are wondering what is the point of this app, we think it would be good for places of professional setting where you wouldn't want random personal photos accidentally popping in the display... to each their own :)

Since we took this approach it also adds other things, such as the fact that it comes out of the box packed with photos, so you do not have to BYOP. In fact we have over 1000 curated photos so far that we have picked ourselves. This is the style of photography I am talking about:

img

Here is a link to the app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mf.mobilefirst.zenpic . It has only been out about a day so not much activity but again I would really appreciate it if some of you would be willing to try it and just share your thoughts on it. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns - everything goes, thanks!

fletch44

This might benefit from having a screensaver functionality on top of being a standalone app.

xobxela

It doesn't appear to be customizable at the moment. I like the quality of the images but I can't think of a time when I would remember to initiate the app. It would be excellent of it could be selected as the screensaver that comes on after a period of time of inactivity. Also I would like it to be able to display the time somewhere.

ftso_ein

How is this different than the native Daydream?

tsyklon

Can't try it out at the moment (not at home) but a couple questions:

  1. Are the pictures all at least 4K resolution?
  2. Is it possible that the app triggers HDR mode? (No idea how this works tbh)
  3. On the play store page, I noticed the app name bottom-left on the pictures. Is this also visible on the TV? Can you at least have this logo jump around from corner to corner? (you know, OLED burn-in concerns ;) )

Always happy to see development on android tv!

Also, I think it's great you're offering it for free without any ads in it.

Tuan_Nguyen_VN

That's great to know that still have some guys trying to make app for Android TV.

Do you have any plan to create a video call app? It's really missing point in Android TV eco system.

u/mfllc

Philip7777
roscoepct

Thanks! Can’t wait to check it out!

MinerAlum

Cool!