Amazon Prime Video gets a much-appreciated redesign, and it looks like Netflix
When it comes to evaluating streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, and Amazon Prime Video, we're obviously going to look first at things like what content they offer, and how much they charge. But what about their interfaces — do we prefer some over others because they're just nicer to use? Prime Video’s UI, in particular, felt rough around the edges, but not for much longer. Amazon is currently revamping its user interface with a look that's much more in line with its rivals, and that doesn't sound like a bad thing at all.
Over the next couple of weeks, a new Prime Video interface is rolling out for Android smartphones, tablets, and all manner of connected hardware in your living room, including smart TVs, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, gaming consoles, and Fire TV streaming devices. Further out, the Prime Video web interface and apps for iPhones and iPads will be updated “in the coming months.”
This much-needed departure from the cluttered interface greatly resembles Netflix but simplifies navigation, so you'll hopefully spend less time crawling through menus and more time checking shows and movies off your watch list. A new six-option menu on the left side of the interface lets you easily jump between Search, Home, Store, Live TV, Free, and My Stuff. The Home menu is further divided into movies, TV shows, and sports, while the Store page has dedicated sections for rentals/purchases, deals, and Prime Channels you subscribe to.
The interface also clearly specifies the content available as a part of your Prime membership, versus that which must be purchased separately. Besides displaying a Top 10 list of the most popular content, the shows on the home screen have a blue checkmark in the description area if they are accessible with a Prime subscription. Content that must be rented or purchased gets a golden shopping bag icon instead.
While sifting through the show descriptions, you will likely notice most of the carousels soldier on with the older interface’s landscape artwork. However, the redesigned interface also introduces what Amazon calls “super carousels,” featuring portrait, poster-style art that transitions into a video when you hover a cursor over it.
Headed up by Amazon’s Product VP for Prime Video and Prime Studios, Ben Smith, the interface redesign took 18 months to complete. Familiar nice-to-haves such as multiple user profiles, X-Ray, and Alexa integration are still going to be available but sadly, stuff we've been dying to see addressed like separate listings for the HD and 4K versions of the same content haven't been fixed. Essentially, the Prime Video interface redesign takes the path of least resistance here, leaning towards parity with similar streaming services, so users don’t find the new interface jarring and difficult to adapt to. Right now, we're just waiting to check it out for ourselves.
( Details and picture courtesy from Source, the content is auto-generated from RSS feed.)
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