Netflix Logos on a slanted grid – Picture: Adobe Stock
Earlier this week, Netflix officially unveiled its brand new UI, which will be hitting TVs and connected devices and will begin rolling out worldwide on May 19th. The new UI has been in testing for quite some time, and while it comes with a host of new features, we wanted to touch on two features that are being rejigged or removed entirely, which may cause some upset for Netflix power users.
Our report from May 7th provides a pretty comprehensive overview of all the changes. As a reminder of the significant changes on the way:
- Design Overhaul – Gone are the rows of portrait posters, and in are bigger, rounded boxes with a background that interacts naturally with what’s on screen
- Big Menu Change – it’s moving from the left to the top.
- My Netflix Tab – This will be a special tab just for you with your list.
- Better Recommendations – The recommendations served to you within the app can change in real-time using artificial intelligence.
- Mobile ChatGPT-Like Search – Partnering with OpenAI, you can get new recommendations based on a chat feature.
- Mobile TikTok Scroll Feature – Find your next watch by scrolling through clips of Netflix movies and series (it was previously called Quick Laughs).
We also wanted to quickly highlight that the TODAY show got an exclusive sitdown with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters on the day of the big reveals. There, he walked through Kaylee Hartung some of the most significant overhauls and revealed some tidbits, like half of all viewing on Netflix has subtitles enabled. He also implied that no price increases will come up anytime soon and that half of all new subscribers are signing up for the ad plan.
Netflix Is Removing New & Popular and Categories
Initially rolled out back in October 2020, New & Popular has been a fan-favorite area of Netflix, including myself, which features several fixed rows:
- Worth the Wait – Shows and movies coming up beyond the next two weeks
- Coming This Week & Coming Next Week – Rows and show what’s coming up over the next few days and over the next seven.
- Top 10 Rows – These fixed rows display the daily most-watched (in terms of views) TV shows and movies.
The rollout of the new UI will remove this feature altogether, and many people who have been testing the new UI since last Summer have been complaining about it on social media, in comment sections, and in my own inbox.
The categories tab features a curated list of category names. You can click on each one to see shows and movies related to that category. It’s essentially an algorithm-powered version of the category codes list that we host.
The Netflix UI Being Discontinued
Netflix addresses the removal of the two features in a new help article that has just gone live. Regarding the removal of the Categories shortcut, they say, “We’ve removed the Categories shortcut from the menu options. Choose the Search search icon from the top of the homepage and select from the list on the left side, or search by categories or genres you’re interested in.”
As for New & Popular, they write, “We’ve removed the New & Popular shortcut from the menu options. To find what’s new and trending on Netflix, scroll to the New on Netflix or the Top 10 rows on the homepage and shows and movies pages.”
This happens already with the current layout, with the top 10s and a generic “Coming Soon” list sometimes dispersed algorithmically in the UI, dependent on how likely you are to use it. Still, it’s not guaranteed to show by any stretch. That sounds like it’ll continue to be the case here.
Of course, there are other ways to catch up with what’s coming up on Netflix soon and what’s trending outside the Netflix app (plugs incoming!). We’ll begin by tooting our own horns by saying we have a comprehensive guide to what’s new on Netflix and coming soon lists right here, and we also capture the daily top 10s from around the world via our most popular hub page.
FlixPatrol also has those daily top 10 lists, and our friends at NewonNetflix.info track Canada, UK, and Australian libraries. Netflix itself would point you towards its social accounts, the site calendar, and the TUDUM site, which contains most of the press releases sent out and other features. However, it’s primarily geared towards Netflix US and Originals only.
Are you disappointed that Netflix is removing these two features? Let us know in the comments down below.
