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Netflix is redesigning its most important app, here's what to expect
- Netflix has published mock-ups of its redesigned TV interface.
- The redesign primarily reworks the menu and navigation system and how title tiles display information.
- Netflix has rolled out the redesign to limited testers, but it’s unclear if and when it’ll reach all users.
Netflix is testing a new TV interface that it hopes will provide more information to content hunters and simplify the browsing experience for all. The company published several mockups of the new home page and other elements that may form the base of the streaming platform’s new redesign (h/t: The Verge).
The changes represent the app’s biggest UI shift in years, but the general Netflix aesthetic remains.
What’s new on the Netflix TV redesign?
The biggest tweak affects the navigation and menu system. The left-hand shortcuts bar is replaced by a stripped-down top navigation bar that houses a search icon, the Home tab, and the “My Netflix” tab. The latter is where users can find personalized recommendations, their Continue Watching list, and titles added to My List. This will likely be the de facto new home page for many. The top bar also ditches the Categories and New & Popular tabs but keeps the Shows and Movies options.
There’s also a new emphasis on displaying additional title information. The hero title on the Home tab and tiles in subcategories will offer info badges that display the actors starring in it, any awards or nominations it may have earned, how it’s performing in Netflix’s library, and its release date.
Another big change affects show and movie tiles. Hovering over tiles in subcategories expands them, and trailers eventually play in these enlarged areas rather than at the top of the screen. Contextual information, including genre, episodes, rating, and duration (for movies), is visible beneath, with the show’s description sitting a step lower. This change means the new UI includes more moving elements. We’ll also have to see how this affects older TVs and less performant hardware.
What do you think of Netflix's redesign?
When can we expect the Netflix TV redesign?
The redesign is available for a handful of testers, but Netflix hasn’t specified when the new UI will be rolled out to all users. Netflix’s senior director of product Pat Flemming told The Verge that this current design is a “best initial swing,” so we can expect elements to change as the company delves deeper into the testing program.
However, it seems inevitable that Netflix will change the UI for its most important app in some way in the coming months. For those who favor the current layout, enjoy it while it’s here.