Netflix has announced a major redesign of its mobile application as it looks to boost daily user engagement and directly compete with social media platforms such as YouTube Shorts and Instagram.
The company revealed the upcoming changes during its fourth-quarter earnings call on January 20, signalling a strategic shift in how users interact with Netflix on smartphones. Rather than functioning primarily as a static catalogue of films and television shows, the redesigned app will focus on dynamic, interactive content discovery.
Everything Is a Reel
At the heart of the redesign is the deeper integration of vertical, swipeable video feeds. Netflix has been testing short-form video previews since May 2025, but the new interface will make this format central to the mobile experience.
These reel-like feeds will surface trending titles, personalised recommendations, and short previews designed to mirror the fast-paced browsing behaviour popularised by social media platforms.
Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters said the updated interface is intended to support the company’s long-term growth strategy and position the platform for the next decade of expansion. Features such as video podcasts, interactive prompts, and bite-sized content previews are expected to encourage users to open the app daily, even when they are not planning to watch full-length shows or films.
Shifting the Competition
The move reflects Netflix’s growing focus on capturing “attention share” as competition intensifies from platforms like YouTube and Instagram, which dominate mobile viewing habits. Although Netflix remains the world’s largest subscription streaming service—with more than 325 million paid subscribers as of late 2025—it is now prioritising habitual engagement over occasional viewing.
Alongside short-form video, Netflix is expanding into new content formats. The platform recently introduced its first original video podcasts and has partnered with Spotify and iHeartMedia to integrate established podcast libraries.
The redesigned mobile interface is expected to roll out globally later in 2026. Following last year’s overhaul of its TV app, the mobile revamp underscores Netflix’s broader ambition to blend traditional streaming with the high-frequency interaction model of social media platforms.
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