Santa came a little bit early for Netflix customers with iPads. Not only do we all get an updated user interface, but the folks in Latin America are getting iOS Netflix streaming for the first time ever. Welcome to the club, ladies and gentlemen south of the US border!
In all honesty, the updated user interface isn’t a big change as far as I’m concerned. It’s pretty consistent with the look of the website and streaming apps on the big three video game consoles. It’s fine and usable, but it won’t be winning any design awards.
While the requirement section of the Netflix app page says that it supports iOS 4.0+, the “What’s new” section has this to say about the iPad interface: “New iPad UI for all regions – US, Canada, Latin America – requires upgrade to iOS 5.” It isn’t immediately clear what that means. I’ve reached out to Netflix to see if they can clarify, and I’ll update if I get any response. My gut is telling me that iPhone and iPod touch users require 4.0+ while iPad users require 5.0+. If you happen to know the answer, please feel free to comment on this post.
As a heavy Netflix user, I don’t even find myself using the Netflix app on my iPad. Do any of you? Mostly, I’m either watching Netflix on my Apple TV or my PS3. I’d love to be able to see how many people actually use Netflix on mobile devices as compared to boxes that are connected to their TVs. I’d wager that combined iOS usage is small, and Android usage is even smaller. Again, I’d love to hear what you’re thinking about Netflix right now, so jump in the comments and have your say.
