Skip to main content

Netflix updates Windows Phone, Xbox 360 apps

Netflix_UI
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Announced within the official Netflix blog this week, the streaming video development team has upgraded the mobile application for Windows Phone as well as the Netflix application for the Xbox 360. In addition to a variety of performance tweaks for the Windows Phone platform to reduce crashes and increase responsiveness, the updated mobile app now allows subscribers to choose their local language and view subtitles when watching a film or television series through the streaming service. As of today’s update, Netflix has also made the mobile application available in the United Kingdom, Ireland and all countries located within Latin America. The application can be downloaded for free through the Windows Phone Marketplace, but requires a monthly subscription to activate the service.

netflix-windows-phoneBeyond the improvements to the Windows Phone application, the Xbox 360 application has received a variety of enhancements as well. While the last update to the application added Kinect gestures as well as voice control, the most notable inclusion within this update ties a user’s Xbox Live account to the Netflix subscription.

This allows a user to log into their Xbox Live account on another Xbox 360 and watch video through the Netflix application. Other tweaks to the application include higher quality contrast for deeper blacks, a zooming feature that allows users to expand letterbox content to the full size of the screen and more useful navigation controls when skipping through a particular video to reach a specific scene.

For users of the Netflix application in Canada, the United Kingdom, Latin America or Ireland, the Facebook integration has been tweaked to include content that friends have watched and rated. Xbox 360 owners will find this data in the main screen of the user interface. Sharing control has also been improved to allows users to choose specific episodes to share with their Facebook friends.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
Your Xbox Live Gold subscription will turn into Xbox Game Pass Core this September
Xbox Game Pass Core's logo over a library of games.

Microsoft finally made the decision to move on from its monthly online-access subscription service Xbox Live Gold. On September 14, Xbox Live Gold will transform into Xbox Game Pass Core, with current Gold subscribers automatically gaining a Game Pass Core subscription.

An Xbox Live subscription tied to online play has existed in some form since Xbox Live launched in 2002, but Xbox Live Gold as we now know it truly came into form in July 2013 when Microsoft started the Games with Gold program that gave subscribers free games each month in addition to that online access. Although Microsoft rolled back some online restrictions in 2021, Games with Gold continues to this day. That will all end when Game Pass Core launches.

Read more
Avowed finally reappears at Xbox Games Showcase with a 2024 launch window
A spellcaster holds a book in Avowed.

After a long wait, Avowed finally reappeared at today's Xbox Game Showcase. The upcoming action RPG is now scheduled for a 2024 launch.

Avowed - Official Gameplay Trailer

Read more
Netflix may bring its gaming service to TVs, with iPhones serving as controllers
The Netflix Games section.

Netflix is working on a feature that will bring its games to smart TVs and allow players to use their iPhone as a controller, reports from Bloomberg and MacRumors' Steve Moser said on Wednesday.

The move would take Netflix’s gaming service beyond only smartphones and tablets, giving subscribers more ways to play. And for iPhone owners, it also eliminates the need to buy a dedicated controller, making it more likely that people would give its games a go.

Read more