Netflix has long given its users free rein in order to gain subscribers and popularity. In addition to shared accounts, the platform allowed, for example, downloading videos on Windows, Android and iOS in order to watch videos offline. However, now that it has gained the desired subscribers and popularity, many of these functions are coming to an end.
Last May, Netflix app users in the United States began seeing a message indicating that the app was about to change. The streaming entertainment giant was preparing a new version of its application that would improve (at least, in theory) the user experience. Far from reality, in the end this did not happen.
The Netflix app for Windows was quite old, we can’t deny that. And, in addition, few people used it, since you could also access all the content directly from the browser. But, if you knew how to use it, it had some very interesting advantages, such as the possibility of downloading series and films to the computer to watch them without needing the Internet.
The new version of Netflix for Windows was supposed to focus on supporting the new features that the platform had implemented, such as live events, better playback quality, or the new plan with ads. However, in doing so, the company has eliminated one of the most interesting features of the app: the possibility of downloading videos to watch them offline.
The new Netflix is ​​now available
After two months of waiting, the new version of the Netflix app for Windows has finally arrived. Just a few hours ago, the new app landed in the Microsoft Store, forcing users to forget about the download function we talked about forever.
This new app is based on PWA technology, that is, it is a progressive web application. It uses the Edge engine to load practically the same website that we can access from the browser, but within an isolated container. We can even access the browser’s own contextual menus, as well as its functions. As for the possibilities of this app, they are the same as those we can access from the browser, no more, no less.
Initially, no other functions have been lost than the possibility of downloading videos to watch them when we don’t have Internet.
Mobile downloads, for now
In the end, Netflix has got its way, as usual. Users who watch the platform on PC can forget about downloading videos forever to watch them offline. Even if we block the app from updating, the old version will sooner or later stop working, so this is an inevitable change. And, even if we don’t realize it now, it is a huge loss.
For now, the download function is still available in the Android and iOS apps. But, to be honest, we wouldn’t be surprised if Netflix did something to limit or block this function in a few months. After all, it doesn’t want us to download videos from its servers, it wants us to watch everything in streaming.
