Netflix for iOS offers brief, fast-loading, vertical format show previews
If you’re so busy you don’t even have time to turn your phone horizontally when checking out previews of new Netflix shows, the company has you covered …
Report: President Obama nearing content deal with Netflix, but Apple is also interested
Thus far, Apple has inked deals with some major entertainment names for its original video platform. A new report form The New York Times today highlights another potential effort, this time involving former president Barack Obama…
We mostly sign up to Netflix on Macs and iPhones, but watch it on TV
Netflix has shared a few stats on how people join and watch the service, and it found that there’s a pretty rapid switch in devices …
Netflix announces expanded ‘PIN’ parental controls alongside maturity level rating update
Netflix today announced that it is updating its parental controls to create more detailed protection for young viewers. The service is also adding clearer maturity level rating labels to its content.
Netflix expects Apple’s TV shows to be bundled with Apple Music or iOS
Netflix today announced its fourth quarter results for 2017, reporting $3.29 billion in revenue and 8.33 million additional subscribers. Hidden in the company’s announcement, however, is also acknowledgment that Apple may soon be a major competitor…
Netflix raises prices on two of its three plans, stock jumps as well [U]
Netflix today has raised its prices slightly for new customers for its standard and premium plans, while existing customers will start paying the higher prices in November.
Netflix for iOS updated with support for HDR streaming on select devices
Netflix today has released an update for its iOS app that brings HDR content support to supported devices. The update also brings support and enhancements for iOS 11 all around and is available now for all users as the iPhone 8 starts to arrive to customers around the world.
Netflix leaps over shrinking cable subscriber market for the first time
New data from Leichtman Research shows that the US cable subscriber market is now smaller than Netflix’s market share which marks a first for the industry.
UBS says low chance of Apple buying Netflix, Tesla or Disney, but ‘surprising’ acquisition possible
When a company has a market cap of around $800B and is sitting on cash reserves of more than $250B, it’s not surprising that we hear continual speculation about some kind of mega acquisition. In Apple’s case, the three usual suspects are Netfix, Tesla and Disney – the latter most recently pitched by RBC last month, the former just last week by Citigroup.
Each has an obvious logic, as UBS acknowledges, but the bank believes that a ‘surprising’ mega-acquisition is a more likely bet …
Could Apple buy Netflix or Tesla? Citigroup thinks so
Analysts often dream about spending Apple’s growing cash pile by listing which company’s Apple could acquire, and this week Apple’s cash reserves climbed past a quarter trillion dollars at $256.8 billion. In response, Citigroup analyst Jim Suva has listed both Netflix and Tesla as takeover targets for Apple…
Netflix plans to drop star ratings in favor of like/dislikes, is it the right move? [Poll]
Netflix plans to soon change its current review system from traditional 1-5 star ratings to instead only allow users to like or dislike a film or TV show, but is it the right move?
Netflix dropping star ratings in favor of binary like/dislike; says user ratings less relevant
Netflix users will no longer be able to assign star ratings to the films and shows they have watched, reports FastCompany, as the streaming service switches instead to a simply binary like/dislike system. The change is said to be happening ‘in a few weeks.’
While the move makes little sense on the surface, providing far less scope to provide the feedback that drives future recommendations, Netflix claims that the stars we award are less relevant than we might think …
No, Netflix still doesn’t really work with Apple’s new TV app
Netflix was a major missing piece of Apple’s new TV app when it launched last month, and that’s still the case despite some confusing coverage recently. The confusion is around how Apple’s TV app works with search and opening video apps.
For the first time, streaming music services have more paying subscribers than Netflix
Music industry analysts Midia recently noted that streaming music services had a combined 100.4M paying subscribers by the end of last year – a long-awaited milestone. Music Business Worldwide notes that this number exceeds the total number of Netflix subscribers the company is expected to announce tomorrow.
Hulu introduces profiles to create personalized experiences for multiple users on a single account
Hulu has announced today the official roll out of profiles to their 12 million subscribers. Profiles will allow multiple viewers to share a single Hulu account, while creating personalized experiences for each. The move to personalized profiles comes after their decision to move away from free TV episode offerings and focus on a subscription centric model.
After adding offline playback, Netflix becomes top grossing app in the US for the first time
Netflix has long been one of the most popular iOS apps, but over recent months, the company has seen its revenue from the mobile increase exponentially. As noted in the latest data from analytics firm SensorTower, Netflix recently cracked the number spot on the Top Grossing charts in the United States for the first time ever.
Why Netflix downloads offline video to your iOS device in 1-3 minute chunks
Update: Netflix tells us that is does not save space in all cases – in other cases, it boosts the quality instead. The primary focus of its approach is to work toward improved mobile streaming quality.
One of the reasons it took Netflix so long to allow subscribers to download video for offline playback, says the company, is that it wanted to make sure that it could deliver high-quality downloads in a reasonable amount of storage space.
A piece in Variety reveals that while it was able to do this reasonably easily for Android devices – using a Google codec designed to significantly reduce the amount of data needed for high-quality video transmission – things weren’t quite so simple on iPhone and iPad. In fact, it ended up splitting video into chunks of just one to three minutes each to do the job …
Netflix bringing offline playback to video service for the first time
Netflix is bringing offline playback to its streaming video service for the first time starting today. This means you won’t need an active Internet connection to watch movies and TV shows which is ideal for travel or other low-connection situations.
Quick Look: NordVPN, a rare VPN service that still works with Netflix, with Mac & iOS apps
There are many reasons you might want to use a VPN service, from protecting your web access on a public hotspot to blocking trackers, but let’s be honest: probably the number one reason is to bypass geo-restrictions by pretending to be located in another country.
This can apply to YouTube and news websites, where you will sometimes see a message stating that the content you’re trying to access is not available in your country, but top of most people’s lists is Netflix …
Netflix brings its ‘Fast’ internet speed test service to iOS
Netflix today has made its “Fast” internet speed testing service available on iOS and Android. The company originally launched the tool back in May on the web as a way to give users a chance to judge their internet’s streaming capabilities.
Netflix for iPad now works with iOS 9’s Picture-In-Picture multitasking feature
Apple introduced a built-in Picture-In-Picture feature for iPads on iOS 9 a year ago and released it last fall. We’re getting deep into iOS 10 territory at this point, but some apps are still updating to support the latest features from the current version of iOS. Netflix delivered on that today with official support for PIP on iOS 9.3.2 or later. (The version number requirement may suggest that earlier versions didn’t support what Netflix would need, although iOS 10 beta seems to break it.)
Netflix adds ‘cellular data controls’ to limit video quality based on data usage, 3D Touch Quick Actions
Netflix is today introducing a new way for users of its mobile apps to adjust the quality of video streams based on data usage. The new “cellular data controls” in the mobile apps include Low, Medium, or High settings.
Report: Apple meeting with ‘triple A-list’ talent to create lineup of original TV shows
Apple has long been rumored to be interested in creating its own original video content for Apple TV users. Earlier this year, the company announced its first original TV show that will focus on the “app economy” and feature music artist Will.i.am. Fast Company today reports, however, that this series is only the very beginning for Apple when it comes to in-house video content.
Video streaming race heats up, Amazon now offers its Prime Video service independent of Prime subscription for $8.99/mo
Rumors of Apple’s entrance into the video streaming arena have been swirling for a couple of years now, with Apple wanting to launch a skinny bundle streaming internet cable TV service, however news on the progress of this project has died down in 2016. It is unclear if it is still on the cards, various outlets reports talked had stalled with the television networks. However, Amazon and Netflix continue to battle it out.
Today, just as Netflix customers are forcibly moved to more expensive monthly plans, Amazon has announced it will offer its streaming video service as a standalone monthly subscription for the first time. Priced at $8.99/per month, the plan is a dollar cheaper than Netflix’s most popular offering. Until today, the only way to get Amazon Prime Video through a $99/year Amazon Prime subscription, bundling video, 2-day shipping and other perks into one membership.
Sadly, there was no word on the status of an Amazon Apple TV app …