Netflix Is About To Be Unrecognizable: Here Are The Major Changes Coming In 2025

Netflix is getting a fresh coat of paint, and it could change the way you watch content. As the dominant streaming service in an era of entertainment dominated by streaming services, anything Netflix does has a major impact on the way people enjoy TV and movies. In the early days of its streaming business, back when the platform would still mail DVDs to your door, the app was sparse. Rows of rectangular title cards evoked the feeling of browsing shelves at the brick-and-mortar movie rental shops Netflix would soon drive out of business.

The interface has since undergone a number of changes, and the next major update is imminent. Getting a UI like Netflix's right is incredibly complex. In addition to making it easy for users to find specific titles, Netflix relies heavily on its algorithms to suggest content to users. The company has been criticized for not marketing its originals, but has insisted the recommendation engine is a better way of putting content in front of the right eyeballs. Aside from discovery, Netflix needs to develop versions of the app that work on devices ranging from palm-sized smartphones to enormous, 100" TVs, or even larger surfaces. When innovating on its interface, the company takes into account millions of data points based on things like user interaction patterns.

Now, Netflix is rolling out the biggest change to its interface in quite some time. The visual refresh is bound for TVs, and it aims to address some of the biggest headaches that have plagued the big screen streaming experience for years. Here's everything you need to know so you won't be blindsided when the update arrives on May 19 and the weeks following.

Netflix is aiming its new update at the TV version of its app. It does not appear that the update will reach computers or mobile devices. The major theme of the update seems to be visual simplicity. The soon to be outdated version of the app shows you one row of title cards at a time, with a preview for the currently selected title taking up the top half of the screen. That's been one of Netflix's most annoying issues, since trailers autoplay in the preview section almost immediately by default. In the new layout, that top preview section will go away. Instead, the currently selected title card will expand into a larger, rectangular box.

The knock-on effect of this is that you'll see fewer title cards at a time, which users who enjoy information density may find frustrating. However, you'll see the basic information about each title displayed more concisely, with information like award wins and key cast in addition to synopsis and runtime. Netflix is focusing on showing more information about each title as part of an effort to combat "decision fatigue," which is when you deliberate on what to watch for so long that you ultimately give up and watch nothing, or fall back on a comfort show.

This new design papers over a deeper change, which Netflix calls "responsive recommendations." As you navigate the app and watch content, the rows of content will update in real time in response. Netflix demonstrated this by showing how the next row of recommendations changes after the user lingers on a title for a few seconds. Again, Netflix says this is to make choosing content easier.

Another goal of the new TV update for the Netflix app is to make navigation simpler. The main menu buttons will also persist at the top of the screen, making it easier to navigate to home, search, shows, movies, games, and the My Netflix hub. Speaking of which, the My Netflix hub is a new section of the app where you can keep track of things like shows you're watching, your watch list, and more. This section is already available on Android and iOS, where it shows My List at the top, followed by titles you've watched trailers for, recently watched, and behind the scenes content for titles you've enjoyed.

As noted above, the update will begin rolling out on May 19, with most people getting it in the weeks to follow. It's a global rollout, so you should see this update no matter what region you're in. Netflix promises "most TVs and TV streaming devices will be eligible," so it's reasonable to expect the most popular smart TV platforms like Roku and Google TV to receive the update rather soon after that May rollout date. Netflix is adding a welcome message that will guide users through the new interface the first time they open the app after the update, so don't worry about getting too confused by a new UI.

While it's easy to balk at change, especially coming from a company that's arguably made bad UI decisions in the past, this update does look like a genuine improvement over the current paradigm. If it can help people find more content they actually like, that's a good thing, since it's all too easy for content to get buried amid a never-ending stream of new releases.