Skip to Content

Netflix Redesigns TV Apps With Side Bar Interface Housing My List, Search, and More

by

Netflix today revealed a new design for its "TV experiences," or TV-based apps, that aims to make it easier to find TV shows and movies on the service.

In addition to the rows with various themes, Netflix subscribers watching on a TV will now see a sidebar on the left side of the app that expands when they scroll over to it. This UI has Search, Home, Series, Movies, My List, and New hubs, making it far simpler to jump directly to specific sections of Netflix you want to get to without having to scroll around looking for them.

netflix new interface
Otherwise, browsing around Netflix on a TV app appears to be largely the same, with video previews that automatically play once you've stopped on a show or movie. Netflix's director of product innovation Stephen Garcia said that the new update came out of "extensive research" into how its users browse for content.

While this may feel like an obvious update to some, validating that this TV experience was better for our members took extensive research, testing and technology improvements. Along those lines, we will continuously learn from our members and evolve the TV experience so that it gets even more simple, fun and easy to find the stories that make Netflix great.

In our testing of this new interface, we saw that that this simpler design helped members find something great to watch.

The company didn't directly confirm which platforms this update will arrive on, but it typically uses "TV experiences" as an all-encompassing reference to apps on streaming boxes, game consoles, smart TVs, and anywhere else Netflix is viewed on a TV set. This should mean that fourth-generation and fifth-generation Apple TV users will see the update alongside other platforms, with a rollout that begins worldwide today.

Tag: Netflix

Top Rated Comments

100 months ago
About time! Now, just PLEASE add an option to turn off the auto play previews!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
m0sher Avatar
100 months ago
I love Netflix yet no option to mark a movie or TV show as ‘watched’ without having to actually watch it, if you already did and would like it to reflect your personal watched history on a particular show.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
itsmilo Avatar
100 months ago
I could not agree more. It’s so annoying playing the very first ep of a show you already finished binging by mistake and having the unfinished bar of a show you indeed finished waiting in your play list. Sends my OCD through the roof. I want a watched button badly
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
100 months ago
This will be helpful. Netflix' seemingly random placement of "My List" and "Continue Watching" is a big annoyance. Sometimes one or the other will be up top, sometimes I have to move through new and trending first. Randomness is exactly what you want in a user experience right? RIGHT?
[doublepost=1531939134][/doublepost]
About time! Now, just PLEASE add an option to turn off the auto play previews!
and THIS!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
100 months ago
About time! Now, just PLEASE add an option to turn off the auto play previews!
I've stopped using Netflix altogether due to the auto-previews, I've completely switched to Amazon. Infuriating.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
100 months ago
I have yet to see this myself, but I actually preferred the ATV3 menus to the pre-update ATV4 menus. It was annoying to have to scroll up and down to find where it put "My List" this time. This new layout appears to fix that issue.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

macbook air blue

What's Coming in the M5 MacBook Air

Thursday February 26, 2026 3:57 pm PST by
Along with the low-cost MacBook, Apple could introduce a refreshed version of the MacBook Air next week. Most of the focus will be on the new machine, but the MacBook Air is expected to get some useful internal updates. M5 Chip The next-generation MacBook Air will adopt the M5 chip, which Apple already introduced in the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro models that came out last year. Apple's M5...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Teases 'A Big Week Ahead' With Announcements Starting Monday

Thursday February 26, 2026 6:06 am PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook today teased "a big week ahead," with announcements starting Monday. His post included an #AppleLaunch hashtag with a colorful Apple logo, along with a short video that ultimately shows an Apple logo on the lid of a Mac. Apple is reportedly planning a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4, with up to five new products...
ipad mini 7 1

Could Apple's OLED iPad Mini Finally Be a Kindle Killer?

Friday February 27, 2026 12:08 pm PST by
With a similar screen size and easy, one-handed grip, the iPad mini has always been the Apple device that overlaps most with dedicated e-readers. Now, amid rumors pointing to an OLED display for the next generation, could the iPad mini finally replace devices such as the Kindle and Kobo? The shift from LCD to OLED could make the iPad mini far more appealing as a reading device. OLED panels...