Head to head · Updated October 2026

PLUI vs Projectivy

Q: What does PLUI have that Projectivy does not?

User profiles (up to ten, behind a 'Who's watching?' screen with 100+ avatars — Projectivy has none), live security cameras on the home screen (ONVIF/RTSP, beside the clock and weather), a widget dashboard with hundreds of widgets including 82 weather faces and 38 clocks, a 100-slot sidebar you build slot by slot with a PIN lock and daily screen-time limit per category, cloud backup under one Device ID, and 45 languages. The full Elite edition is included at no cost.

Two excellent launchers from two different schools — compared on facts from each app's public listing, with respect where it is deserved. Which is most places.

Projectivy is the serious one of the minimal school. A million installs, rich features, free, on the Play Store — and the deepest tweaking of any TV launcher, with a plugin system on top. If your ideal home screen is a quiet Apple-TV-style grid that you can adjust down to the last pixel, Projectivy has spent years perfecting exactly that, and you should probably use it.

Premium TV Launcher UI plays a different game. It is not a grid that gets out of the way — it is a complete environment: glass panels over your own wallpaper, a widget dashboard you compose yourself, live weather drawn as art, your security cameras beside the clock, and a profile for every person in the house. Where Projectivy perfects restraint, PLUI goes all in on richness — and stays coherent about it.

Neither school is wrong. The table below is the same 17 facts as our five-launcher comparison, reduced to these two.

Compare	Projectivy Spocky Minimal	Premium TV Launcher UI Smartago Premium
StyleThe look the launcher is built around	Apple-TV-style grid, wallpaper behind	Glass panels over your wallpaper, widgets, rail
Ads / sponsored rows	None	None
Price	Free + Unlocker (one-time)	Free · Elite included
Publisher	Spocky — independent developer	Smartago — a named company with a privacy policy and a support desk
Support	GitHub issues, subreddit	Email answered by a person in 24–48 h · GitHub issues · in-app feedback
Account required	No	No
Source code	Closed · GitHub holds issues and docs	Closed · focus layer published as TV Focus Kit (MIT)
Live widgets	Clock, weather, basic	Hundreds: 82 weather faces, 38 clocks, forecast, radio, media, system, cameras
Wallpapers	Own images, GIF and video, plugins, dynamic	Curated gallery to 8K, aerial video, fine art, NASA, Reddit, own photos
ProfilesSeparate home screens per person	—	Up to 10, “Who’s watching?”, 100+ avatars
Parental control	Parental controls, PIN	PIN per category, daily screen-time limit, admin permissions
Security cameras on the home screen	—	Yes, beside clock and weather (viewer, no recording)
HOME button on locked TVs	In-app launcher override	Button Mapper TV QuickActions (Play build) · built-in on the full build
Remote shortcut buttons	Yes	Yes — single, double, long press (inside the launcher)
Sidebar / categories	Categories, auto-sorting	100 slots you build, each with icon, layout, lock
Languages	Many	45
Backup / restore	Local export	Cloud backup, one Device ID
Devices	Android TV 5+	Android TV 8+, Google TV, Fire TV (sideload, Android models), projectors

Sources: each app’s Google Play listing and public documentation, checked September 2026. “—” means not offered. Corrections: info@smartago.net — we will fix it within a week. Full five-launcher table: Android TV launchers compared.

Choose Projectivy if

You want to tune every pixel of a quiet grid

Nothing on Android TV tweaks deeper. Plugins, dynamic wallpapers, options for everything, support back to Android TV 5 — and a home screen that stays out of the way. The enthusiast’s favourite, deservedly.

Choose PLUI if

You want the TV to feel like the room

A widget dashboard you compose, weather drawn as art, a profile for every person behind “Who’s watching?”, your cameras beside the clock, glass over your own wallpaper. The premium school — complete, luxurious, and included at no cost.

Asked about this pair

PLUI vs Projectivy, in plain answers

Is Projectivy better than PLUI?▾

They are different categories, not two ranks of the same thing. Projectivy is the enthusiast's favourite of the minimal school: a clean Apple-TV-style grid with the deepest tweaking of any launcher, plugins, and support back to Android TV 5. PLUI is the premium school: a complete living-room home screen with a widget dashboard, up to ten profiles, parental controls and live security cameras. If you want the TV to disappear, Projectivy is probably the better pick; if you want the TV to feel like the room, PLUI is built for exactly that.

What does PLUI have that Projectivy doesn't?▾

User profiles (up to ten, behind a "Who's watching?" screen with 100+ avatars — Projectivy has none), live security cameras on the home screen (ONVIF/RTSP, beside the clock and weather), a widget dashboard with hundreds of widgets including 82 weather faces and 38 clocks, a 100-slot sidebar with a PIN lock and daily screen-time limit per category, cloud backup under one Device ID, and 45 languages. The full Elite edition is included at no cost.

What does Projectivy do better than PLUI?▾

Deep tweaking: Projectivy exposes more switches and options than any other TV launcher, and a plugin system extends wallpapers and behaviour further. It runs on Android TV 5 and newer, where PLUI needs Android TV 8. And if your taste is a quiet, minimal Apple-TV-style grid, Projectivy has spent years perfecting exactly that — PLUI is intentionally not minimal.

Are both free? Do they show ads?▾

Both are free and neither shows ads or sponsored rows. Projectivy offers an optional one-time Unlocker for extra features. PLUI includes its full Elite edition at no cost — no unlock, no trial, no account.

Can I install both and switch between them?▾

Yes. Android TV launchers coexist: installing one changes nothing you cannot undo, and the free TV Launcher Manager sets either one — or the stock launcher — as the real Home app with one tap, including a one-tap restore. Trying both costs two minutes each.

Try both.
Keep the one you love.

No promises, no superlatives. Two minutes on your screen — complimentary, no account — and judge for yourself what belongs in your living room.

See PLUI on your TV

Read the Honest Take · All head-to-heads