Streaming service and media software maker Plex on Friday focused on discovery, easy access to watchlists, and other personalization features for home media enthusiasts who still use the app to organize their media libraries. Announcing a software redesign.
The company has long sought to balance its history as a software maker focused on home media organizations with its future as a streaming service that generates revenue through ad-supported content. After raising $40 million in funding in early 2024, the company said it expects to be close to profitability in late or early 2025. Given that goal, the plex redesign needs to be successful.
That's why the company is taking careful steps with the changes, which Plex says took two years to make.
Plex's new interface, originally available as a preview on mobile devices, includes redesigned navigation to make it easier to explore different parts of the Plex service. The Plex update returns to tabbed navigation with buttons at the bottom of the screen instead of a hamburger menu (a three-line menu that hides the navigation). This tends to work better on mobile.
Here, users can navigate between their media library, live TV channels (ad-supported streams), on-demand streams, and more. There are also buttons in the Discovery section and a personalized home page that shows you what content you want to continue watching.
Image credit: Plex
Those who continue to use Plex to manage their home libraries will appreciate having a dedicated button that centralizes access to this feature. You can also favorite libraries to customize the experience to suit your needs.
Plex Watchlist, which tracks the shows and movies you want to watch, will now be placed more prominently in the top navigation for faster access, as Plex says more people are starting to use the feature. It was done.
Other changes in the new release include a reorganization of the areas where you access personal information such as your profile, viewing history, friends, and streaming services, all now available in one place .
The updated app also expanded its use of visual images. Plex says this is especially noticeable on movie and show detail pages, cast and crew profiles, and users' own Plex profile pages. Movie and show title artwork has also been added in response to user feedback.
Plex points out that the redesign isn't all surface-level, and that it internally rewrote the app and streamlined its codebase as part of this process. A unified codebase allows teams to quickly release new features across all supported platforms, shortening development cycles.
However, this redesign will first be rolled out to mobile devices as an “early access preview” as Plex wants to test the user experience and get feedback before expanding to all devices. Some features, such as playlist and cast support, are also still in development and will be added during the preview period. The company says support for TV platforms will also be available soon.