Streaming videos on mobile devices is a tricky business for users. One speed doesn't fit all, so those without data caps presumably want to stream at the highest speed available, while those with limited data caps will want to stream at slower speeds as to avoid expending their monthly data allotments.
With that in mind, mobile users of Netflix were stuck in quite the predicament: they had no control of their stream speed. Instead of allowing users to choose a speed that best suited them, the mobile app only offered a single streaming speed that conserved data but also delivered relatively poor quality. In short, it was good for some, but not for all.
Netflix has put an end to that by announcing in a blog post that it will allow subscribers to choose stream rates that best suit their data plan.
"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," wrote Netflix Director of Product Innovation Eddy Wu.
Netflix will still retain its default stream speed of about three hours of video per 1GB of data, however, by going to "App Settings" then "Cellular Data Usage," mobile users can select a higher stream speed that offers higher quality video in exchange for more data consumption, or lower stream speed that offers lower-quality video in exchange for less data consumption.
Netflix's reasoning behind this app adjustment is quite calculated. After admitting last March that it had been intentionally slowing video streams for years without informing consumers, the company has been looking for some way to appease industry critics who were critical of Netflix following that revelation. At the time, Netflix said it slowed video streams in order to prevent customers from using too much data, however some critics were skeptical of this and argued that the company's actions were a Net Neutrality violation. Giving customers a choice means that it will be in the good graces of critics (for the most part) and remain off the FCC's radar.
Even if this move is groundbreaking for Netflix as a company, that isn't the case for the industry as Amazon already allows its users to adjust stream rates.
Furthermore, this update doesn't address another issue that users had been complaining about for a while: the inability to download video to watch later. Through this feature, users could download a video through Wi-Fi at home and then watch it while on the road without impacting their data plans. Netflix had promised this feature would be coming eventually, but it's still noticeably absent.
Before this was introduced, the only way to watch Netflix videos without affecting data caps was to subscribe to T-Mobile's Binge On program. However, doing so puts T-Mobile in charge of data streams (at 480p) unless consumers opt out.
