Netflix Redesigning Android App’s UI; Update Hitting Play Store Soon

It appears Netflix is in the process of revamping its Android app’s looks this holiday season. Some users are apparently getting a taste of what the redesigned user interface would be like, and they are sharing screenshots online.

This week, some Netflix users who are accessing the streaming service using their Android smartphones have noticed something different about the app’s UI. As it turns out, a lucky few have been chosen to participate in the testing phase of a new update.

One user with the handle MyFishDrownedItself shared a screenshot of the new interface on Reddit’s Android thread. According to the Redditor, the redesigned UI of the Android app is “so nice, so clean.” View the screenshot here.

XDA-Developers made a side-by-side comparison of the current Netflix UI and the redesigned version. The outlet pointed out that the new UI looks somewhat similar to the iOS client and is quite consistent with Google’s Material Design guidelines.

The most noticeable change that Netflix is implementing in an upcoming update is the transfer of the options and controls to the bottom of the UI. Instead of hiding all options under a slide-out hamburger menu on the upper left corner of the interface, they are now displayed at the bottom of the application. The search icon has been moved to the same area as well.

Aside from the new location of the options and controls, other tweaks are also present. However, they are not as prominent as the new menu bar. For instance, the timestamp numbers on the video player are thicker than before. Also, one would need to click on the Search button to access the page where the Categories are listed under a search bar. As for the pages for TV shows and movies, no noticeable difference was noted by testers.

So far, reactions to the relocation of the control bar have been positive. “Honestly, iOS designs are beginning to grow on me. Putting all the navigation icons on the bottom makes a ton of sense in a time when our phones are continuing to get bigger/taller,” Reddit user DaggerOutlaw opined.

Redditor hipposarebig is also pleased with the redesigned UI. For him, the hamburger menu has a lot of compromises, like hindering feature discoverability and making fast-switching between different sections a tad slower than expected. He also commented that “placing buttons at the bottom of the screen is ergonomically beneficial, given the height of modern smartphones.”

Hipposarebig pointed out that the only advantage of the hamburger menu is the fact that it frees up about 40 pixels of space at the bottom of the UI, allowing more content to be displayed to users. However, the Redditor also said that this is no longer big of an issue given the trend of tall, full-screen displays nowadays. “With the new smartphones having tall, full screen displays, the tab bar isn’t taking up as much valuable vertical space as it once did.”

If testing goes well, a wider rollout is to be expected in the coming days. For now, only select regions have access to the redesigned UI. Netflix is testing the feature from the server-side, so users who are chosen to participate do not need to manually download any app update, as per Phone Arena.