Netflix has come up with a new mobile data-saving feature to give users the power to control video everywhere and stay within the budget of their data plans. Netflix’s updated app for iOS and Android devices will have the Cellular Data Usage setting in the mix.
Netflix gives more options to users
With the new feature, users can turn off the automatic option and set their own personal preferences. They can pick between Low, Medium, High, Off (Wi-Fi only) and Unlimited. The Off (Wi-Fi only) option does not use cellular data, while Unlimited fully depends on it. Subscribers with an unlimited data plan are advised to use the latter.
As for the other settings, Medium offers two hours’ worth of viewing for each gigabyte, Low provides four hours, and High provides one hour of viewing. The default setting lets streamers watch about three hours of video per gigabyte, according to the video streaming giant. Also Netflix pointed out that it provides a good balance between regulated data usage and quality.
“Our testing found that, on cellular networks, this setting balances good video quality with lower data usage to help avoid exceeding data caps and incurring overage fees. If you have a mobile data plan with a higher data cap, you can adjust this setting to stream at higher bitrates,” the streaming firm said in a blog post.
Netflix subscribers on unlimited data plans can now watch as many shows and movies they want in high-definition, and subscribers with limited data can control their data and video quality.
More control as well
“Our goal is to give you more control and greater choice in managing your data usage whether you’re on an unlimited mobile plan or one that’s more restrictive,” explained Eddy Wu, director of product innovation at Netflix.
If you want to access the Cellular Data Usage settings, just click on the navigation drawer on the upper left corner and tap on App Settings. Now you can control the video quality of the shows you are watching from everywhere and save your mobile data.
The streaming giant already allowed users to control video quality while viewing on non-mobile devices. Netflix’s rigid mobile quality policy came to light when T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere claimed that his network’s “Binge On” program streams Netflix at a higher resolution than AT&T and Verizon. In fact, such program from T-Mobile lets videos stream without counting them against data caps. This resulted in a huge controversy after Netflix acknowledged it.
