Netflix – An example of multi-device UX
When thinking about a consumer app that everyone can relate to, and which employs a multi-device strategy, one company comes to mind. Netflix.
They have deployed an application to stream movies on several devices: Wii, XBox, Playstation, BluRay Devices, TiVo, and the iPad. I want to point out that it’s the same app, yet they all look and feel slightly different based on the device. Now I don’t really like some of the execution of the UX and UI on some of the devices but it’s more about the big picture then the individual apps themselves.
If you look at all of them side by side you can tell they all are Netflix applications and the brand is present, but you will also notice that they are all slightly different. They are attempting to take advantage of the native device. Take the Wii and the XBox for example. They both allow you to browse for movie titles but in slightly different ways based on the UI of the device and in this case the use of input.
With the Wii it’s a simpler UI taking on the feeling of a Wii type of UI with rounded Controls. It feels like a Wii game or app. It allows the user to navigate using the Wii controller with simple arrow and slider controls.
The XBox on the other hand is using the XBox card/coverflow style which is used throughout the game for navigation, so this feels like an XBox app. It allows the user to use the XBox remote thumb controls as they would any other app or game.
In the end, when users use these applications they are very comfortable and will be comfortable using them with out much investigation. They both contain the same affordances that the user is accustomed to on that particular device.
As we see more devices and channels to deliver apps, this will continue to be a very important part of the process and strategy when deploying them.
God.. that seems like a lot of work maintaining the app on so many different platforms!
What I do like is Netflix doesn’t build a one size fits all app, which would make sense from a developer point of view (i.e. easy to update across platforms). They’ve really taken the user experience and widget behaviours of each platform and injected it into the app. The IA remains the same, just the way the app is operated that changes.
Too bad we don’t have access to Netflix here in Singapore..
@timyeo
I wish that was possible! Each system is coded for differently, different programming languages, operating systems, system constraints, so it’s impossible to really build a one-size fits all.
But, the good news is that they only have to develop the UI. Everything else would be handled by their backend (streaming, queues). I’m sure the decoding is already offered through an API from the device manufacturer, so in essence, it is just building the interface, and making appropriate backend calls.