Shield TV owners have been patiently waiting for Android 6.0 to roll out for their hardware, and it looks like today is the day. A pop-up dialogue prompting you to install Experience Upgrade 3.0 should be hitting boxes today, and with that update comes [Marshmallow](/./marshmallow] and several usability updates to the Shield UI.
We've been using this update for a couple of days now, and have been able to poke around a little and see what's new. Here's what you need to know!
For the most part, this is Android 6.0 as you'd expect it. Permissions are live for everything, and appear as you open an app. The Shield TV integrated storage system has been overhauled to support adoptable storage, which means your added storage can now be encrypted once it has been added. Google's efforts in easier account setup, specifically the ability to set up an account using just your voice from your phone to the TV, is also available by default.
NVIDIA is focused on giving users better access to more content.
Leanback is still very much the default UI for the Shield TV, but Google has done a better job cleaning up their UI for discovery and management. The lefthand menu makes jumping between installed apps and accounts a lot easier, and there are now better categories for searching content. The only thing missing here are apps you've purchased but don't have installed, the All Apps section from the full Google Play Store.
NVIDIA included a note in the update about Vulkan APIs being available on the Shield TV, but as of right now there's nothing you can do that takes advantage of these APIs. It's possible the Vulkan-friendly version of The Talos Principle being used to show off Vulkan on PCs will make its way to Android shortly, but as of right now it's not an overly useful feature.
As you can see, There aren't a ton of visual enhancements to this experience. NVIDIA is focused on giving users better access to more content, and that means more games like Tomb Raider for free through GeForce Now and using Google's update to offer a cleaner experience. It's a good deal for everyone, and it should be available to everyone now.
