Netflix updates iOS app with cellular data controls & more 3D Touch commands
Roger Fingas
Netflix on Thursday released an important update to its iOS app, enabling more control over streaming on cellular networks, as well as extending the use of 3D Touch gestures.
Cellular data is on an "Automatic" setting by default, offering about 3 hours of streaming per gigabyte. There are also five manual options, including "Off," "Low," "Medium," "High," and "Unlimited." While the first and last are self-explanatory, the middle three offer 4 hours, 2 hours, or just 1 hour of video per gigabyte, the tradeoff being image quality.
Recently Netflix admitted to throttling video for AT&T and Verizon subscribers, specifically because the company wanted to prevent people from exceeding those carriers' data caps. In fact, the Automatic setting uses the same bitrate — 600 kilobits per second — that AT&T and Verizon Netflix watchers have been subject to.
The added 3D Touch commands consist of shortcuts from the app's home screen icon. The app previously offered only peek-and-pop gestures for previewing videos.
Other changes include unspecified "VoiceOver navigation improvements," along with bug fixes, including one solving a problem with the app not recognizing an active internet connection.
The Netflix iOS app is a free download for any iOS 8 device, but plans cost between $7.99 and $11.99 per month.
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