Netflix has announced new fantastic series, including the early arrival of the new season of Stranger Things, which has now passed the desire to see, we have aged and the protagonists. No, joke. Instead, a new interface restyling will arrive with a series of changes aimed at making the experience, they say, cleaner, intuitive, personalized. The change, presented during the Product & Tech event by Eunice Kim (Chief Product Officer) and Elizabeth Stone (Chief Technology Officer), aims to simplify navigation and increase the precision of suggestions.
Among the most visible news, the “search” button will be duplicated: in addition to the retractable menu, it will also appear at the top of the homepage, together with a quick connection for “my list” (this is not sorry, among all the platforms I always forget where my list). The homepage will also have a more orderly design and will immediately offer more details on the contents, visible without having to enter the dedicated page: more information such as prizes won (oh well), public liking (other okay) and other useful data to decide what to look at without having to click forward and go back.
Another thing: the algorithm of the recommendations will be updated more frequently not only on the basis of personal tastes, but also to those of other users. The interface will tell us more and more what we might want to see, and even what we should see, based on the global trend of the catalog. Which I don’t know if it will be good or bad, even when a friend recommends a series I am always wrong my tastes, let alone the other users. Finally, the most interesting (and predictable) novelty: generative artificial intelligence arrives. In the beta for iOS (iPhone), it will be possible to experiment with advanced research in which you can ask for suggestions using subjective descriptions or moods, as “I want something fun but melancholy” or “a series set at sea but without family dramas”, and will try to respond with relevant, or at least plausible recommendations.
In addition, Netflix will tester a new vertical feed, inspired by social networks, where the contents will be presented with short videos instead of static images, to encourage quick exploration and keep attention high, especially on mobile. However with over 300 million users and a growing percentage of use from smartphones, the focus on the furniture makes sense: Netflix is trying to become something more than a simple streaming platform. Or at least to make him seem. For heaven’s sake, the interface counts, but even the substance would not spoil: before optimizing access to recommendations, it could be invested in content that do not seem to be written by an algorithm for other algorithms.
In recent years, the target has lowered too much (also because of the competition), I hope they also invest in interesting content, also because I don’t know if you have noticed but often the platforms pass the titles of which they no longer have the rights, and you find yourself in evidence of Dexter type, new episode, only that it is not the new Dexter (which will be Paramount among other things) but always the old one.