Netflix updated its Xbox One app yesterday, bringing the design the company uses across its TV apps to Microsoft’s console, and users aren’t too happy about it.
The new Netflix app now matches the streaming service’s apps on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Apple TV and other television hardware. Previously, the Xbox One app featured a layout that matched the company’s app in the Windows Store, with a Metro-style design. The change means users are now presented with a vertical series of lists that scroll left and right, but no ability to view the lists in rows and columns, as was previously the case.
In addition to the design changes, the Xbox One app’s main menu now appears to run in 720p instead of 1080p, as users complainted about to a Netflix engineer on Twitter. Several other features appear to have been cut as well, with less voice navigation capabilities available, no gesture control options, no “continue watching” section and playback that is now broken when the app is snapped. While many important features appear to have been cut or broken, Netflix did add the ability to recommend videos to friends on Facebook through the app.
So far, reaction to the new design has been overwhelmingly negative on social media. Searching for “Netflix” and “Xbox One” on Twitter reveals dozens of tweets complaining about the design, with only a few in support of it. Some of the words used to describe the update include “unorganized,” “garbage,” “terrible” and “slow,” among others that aren’t suitable for publication.
Netflix has yet to respond to the complaints or address if features cut in the update will return at a later time. It's unlikely Netflix will revert the interface back to its previous version, however, as the new version uses the company's universal design style, which it also updated its Xbox 360 app to last year. The Xbox 360 app previously also had its own unique design.
Image via Netflix
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