{"id":18350,"date":"2024-11-22T17:55:50","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T17:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18350"},"modified":"2024-11-22T17:55:50","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T17:55:50","slug":"plex-redesigns-its-app-to-look-more-like-a-streaming-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=18350","title":{"rendered":"Plex redesigns its app to look more like a streaming service"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Streaming service and media software maker <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plex.tv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Plex<\/a> on Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plex.tv\/blog\/a-new-plex-experience-is-coming-get-a-mobile-preview-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">introduced<\/a> a redesign of its software that puts more emphasis on discovery, easily accessing your watchlist, and other personalization features \u2014 including those for home media enthusiasts who still use the app to organize their media libraries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, the company has tried to balance its history as a software maker focused on home media organization with its future as a streaming service, where it generates revenue through ad-supported content. Following <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2024\/01\/29\/streaming-media-company-plex-raises-new-funds-as-it-nears-profitability\/\">its $40 million fundraise<\/a> at the beginning of 2024, the company said it would be nearing profitability around year-end or early 2025. Given that goal, Plex\u2019s redesign needs to be successful. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s also why the company is taking careful steps with regard to its changes, which Plex says have been two years in the making.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Initially offered as a preview on mobile devices, Plex\u2019s new interface includes redesigned navigation that makes it easier to explore the different parts of Plex\u2019s service. Instead of hamburger menus (the three-line menus that hide navigation), Plex\u2019s update offers a return to tabbed navigation with buttons at the bottom of the screen, which tends to work better on mobile. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here, users can move between their media library, Live TV channels (ad-supported streams), On Demand streams, and more. There are also buttons for a Discovery section and a personalized home page that will point you to content you may want to continue watching. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3840\" height=\"2160\" src=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?w=680\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2919690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg 3840w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=680,383 680w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=1280,720 1280w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=430,242 430w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=720,405 720w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=900,506 900w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=800,450 800w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=668,375 668w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=1097,617 1097w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/plex-preview-hero-3-iphones-standing.jpg?resize=708,398 708w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3840px) 100vw, 3840px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"wp-block-image__credits\"><strong>Image Credits:<\/strong>Plex<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People who continue to use Plex to manage their home libraries will appreciate that they\u2019ll have a dedicated button that centralizes access to this feature. They\u2019ll also be able to favorite libraries to customize the experience to their needs. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your Plex Watchlist, where you track the shows and movies you want to see, has been given a more prominent spot in the top navigation for faster access, as Plex says more people have begun to use this feature over time. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other changes in the new release include a reorganization of those areas where you access your personal details like your profile, watch history, friends, and streaming services, which are now all available in one place. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The updated app has expanded its use of visual imagery, too. Plex says this will be particularly noticeable in the movie and show detail pages, plus cast and crew profiles, and users\u2019 own Plex profile pages. Title artwork for movies and shows has also been added, in response to user feedback. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Plex notes the redesign isn\u2019t all surface level \u2014 it\u2019s rewritten its apps under the hood and streamlined its codebase as a part of this process. Now that the codebase is unified, the team will be able to release new features across all supported platforms quickly, speeding up the development cycle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the redesign is first rolling out to mobile devices in an \u201cearly-access preview\u201d because Plex wants to test the experience with users and get their feedback before expanding it across all devices. A few <a href=\"https:\/\/forums.plex.tv\/t\/documentation-features-and-common-questions\/893801\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">features<\/a>, including playlists and cast support, are also still in the works but will be added during the preview period. Support for TV platforms will soon follow, the company says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-top: 2px solid #ccc; margin-top: 20px;\">\n<p><em>Source: <\/em> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2024\/11\/22\/plex-redesigns-its-app-to-look-more-like-a-streaming-service\/\">techcrunch.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Streaming service and media software maker Plex on Friday introduced a redesign of its software that puts more emphasis on discovery, easily accessing your watchlist, and other personalization features \u2014 including those for home media enthusiasts who still use the app to organize their media libraries. Over the years, the company has tried to balance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}