Smart downloads are getting much smarter.
What you need to know
- Netflix today announced Downloads For You, an evolution of its smart downloads feature.
- Once enabled, it automatically downloads movies or TV shows from Netflix’s recommendations to your phone or tablet.
- Downloads For You is coming first to Android and iOS later.
Netflix today announced Downloads For You, an evolution of its smart download features which were first rolled out a couple of years ago.
It works a lot like automatic downloads do on music streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music. Whereas Netflix’s previous automatic download feature would grab the next episodes of a show you were already watching, Downloads for You automatically peeks into your suggestions and grabs shows or movies that you were most likely to watch, and then pulls them down for you.
Again, as is common with music streaming services that offer this same functionality, you can allocate how much storage you want this feature to take up. Whether your phone is a ridiculous 512GB or a regular 64GB, you’re able to tweak the app so it doesn’t eat up all of your storage
While it may seem kind of a superfluous feature at a time when most people are homebound, it’s still a useful feature for people in places where internet access is weak. It’s also the first time a streaming video service offers a smart download feature that’s reminiscent of the ones offered by music services. While YouTube Premium recommends individual videos and a selection of curated playlists for download, it does not yet automatically download, nor are subscribers offered the option to. Perhaps Netlix’s adoption of this feature may drive other video streaming services to offer a similar feature in the coming months.
Downloads For You is available worldwide today on Android and coming later to iOS.
