In what would be the first major redesign in 10 years, Netflix has begun testing out a new look and some new features on its TV app that are aimed at making the home page simpler and more streamlined.
The company recently told The Verge that the redesign is aimed at aiding content discovery and helping subscribers decide what to watch. “We often see members doing gymnastics with their eyes as they’re scanning the home experience,” Pat Flemming, Netflix’s senior director of product, told The Verge. “We really wanted members to have an easier time figuring out if a title is right for them.”
The first thing users will notice about the redesign is the shortcuts on the left side have now been replaced by a simplified navigation bar on the top of the interface. That top navigation bar now features your user profile icon, search, Home, Shows, Movies and a My Netflix section. The menu can also be accessed by pressing your remote’s back button.
Selecting the new Home tab will populate the main window below with a preview of newly added Netflix titles. Below that is Netflix’s Today’s Top Picks for You, which includes upcoming live events or titles related to ones you’ve watched recently. The next row down is where you’ll see your Continue Watching list.
The new My Netflix tab is where you’d find things like titles added to My List and Continue Watching, as well as personalized recommendations. Netflix had previously rolled out a My Netflix tab on its mobile apps.
Another part of the redesign is providing users with glanceable information such as the title, synopsis, release year, number of episodes, and genre. Plus, hovering over on a title will trigger a video preview of that title, similar to other streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video.
Netflix says that it will be testing the redesigned TV app with a small group of subscribers that use smart TVs and streaming devices to access the platform. If all goes well, the company test will open the test to more users in the coming months.
