Netflix has upset hundreds of Apple TV users after updating its streaming application on that platform, resulting in a downgraded user experience and reduced picture quality.
Instead of using Apple’s built-in tvOS video player software, which is designed to provide a consistent experience across all streaming services, Netflix has replaced it with its own, customised video player. Unfortunately, the new interface doesn’t just look different, but also feels different, breaking a bunch of much-loved playback features that people have used for years.
Netflix wasn’t the first to do this. Disney+ also uses its own video player on Apple TVs, but it does appear to do a better job of it. In contrast, Netflix’s software seems to have broken numerous basic functions that make skipping and playing content smoother and more enjoyable, and the changes have not been well received.
Multiple users reported, and complained about the changes on Reddit. For instance, when clicking back or forward on the Apple TV remote, it used to skip whatever show was playing back or forward by 10 seconds, but that function no longer works. Instead, it opens up the menu, requiring users to click a second time to go back or forward, similar to the experience on other platforms.
Apple TV users hate this. As iamonreddit explained: “now it pauses and brings up the frame selector, and then you have to click again. Did they not do any research or usability testing before releasing this? It's also not smooth at all."
Unfortunately, that’s not the only change. FlatpanelsHD took a much closer look at the new Netflix video player and discovered that multiple features have been dropped. For instance, the handy auto subtitles that kick in after rewinding or muting a show has been removed. There’s no longer the option to use Apple TV’s “Enhance Dialog” function, and the info and video/audio format details in the slide-up menu have gone. Users can no longer double-tap on the remote to find out when a show or movie ends, and the integration with the “Remote” app on iPhones and iPads has disappeared.
Non-Apple TV users may wonder what the fuss is all about. After all, these are relatively minor inconveniences. But the truth is that a lot of people buy Apple TV specifically because of its user interface, which is widely regarded as the least invasive and seen as offering a much smoother experience for users. When apps go against that and deliver the same user experience found on Android, it makes life worse for users, or at least much more irritating.
Even worse, some Reddit users say that the overall video quality has degraded too. “The new player is pretty bad. And 4K doesn’t look like 4K,” said a user called lusid1.
Another Redditor, called Leckie, moaned about “consistent quality issues… things will randomly go pixelated and I need to force close the app... nothing else has an issue and all other apps work great."
Some are intending to vote with their feet. A user called aisuperman is “at the verge of unsubscribing to an app which has a video player from the 2000s.”
It isn’t clear why Netflix has decided to drop the tvOS video player in favour of its own, because the company hasn’t made any official statements regarding the update, but Reddit user motorik speculated that it’s likely due to Apple’s policies. “Apple wasn’t letting them surveil and monetize to the degree they feel they’re entitled,” motorik wrote.
The cumulative impact of these downgrades was said by Redditor b2717 to be “like someone has moved all of the doorknobs in my house to the other side, right by the hinges. They may still technically work, but it makes using them harder and more annoying.”
Netflix has also made it impossible for users who have received the update to revert to an older version, so there’s no going back for Apple TV users. And while some are threatening to ditch Netflix in response, it seems unlikely that the backlash will be big enough to force the company to change its mind.
