Netflix introduces major TV product redesign

For the first time in 12 years, global streaming giant Netflix has launched a brand new TV digital experience for its 300 million users.

According to Netflix, "All the updates are designed to make choosing easier because decision fatigue is real." The new features include:

• Simpler navigation, meaning that the features Search, Shows, Movies, Games, and My Netflix are now located at the top of the user's screen and are always visible.
• A Netflix hub so users can keep track of where they left off and what they plan to watch next. The team has also introduced a new feature where users can preview a title's synopsis, runtime, award wins, Top 10 history, or key cast all up-front while you browse.
• A new responsive recommendations feature that will help customers get fresh rows of recommendations. The streaming platform states that the homepage will respond to users' viewing and browsing history. The impact that this could have on the current streaming wars could be pivotal.

Mobile users will also expect to see updates, as Netflix is "exploring ways to bring Gen AI to our members' discovery experience" This new feature allows users to search for shows using general prompts like "I want something funny"

Sharing these new product updates, Eunice Kim, CPO at Netflix, and Elizabeth Stone, CTO at Netflix, highlighted the several technology innovations that the streaming platform has led over the years. Elizabeth said, "One of the reasons I joined (and why I stay) is because this company has always had a unique ability to marry incredible tech with incredible entertainment. That's our superpower. Obviously, everything starts with great shows and movies that people love. But if you think about all of the areas where Netflix has a big advantage — our reach, our recommendations, our fandom — tech enables all those things."

“In the coming weeks and months, our global members will get to experience the updated TV homepage for themselves,” Kim added, "When we first started thinking about this project, we wanted to create an experience that was more flexible for our broad entertainment offerings, more intuitive and responsive to our members' needs, and capable of elevating the most thrilling moments on Netflix."

The Netflix homepage design has been an iconic layout for many years, and a number of platforms have used it as inspiration to shape their product design vision. Time will tell how users will receive this new layout and the AI features. Elizabeth wrapped up the presentation by stating: “What’s most exciting to me is how our new TV experience gives us the ability to evolve and innovate more easily going forward. That’s how we’re going to make the Netflix that people know even better. And it’s how we’ll continue to connect them with even more shows, movies and games they’ll love.”