Netflix has introduced a mobile plan to its members in South Africa and the sub-Saharan Africa region.
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| Netflix launches R49 mobile-only plan |
Netflix is launching a mobile plan at R49 per month which will sit alongside the other three Netflix plans; namely basic, standard and premium.
“After several months of testing, we’re excited to launch a new mobile plan in South Africa at R49 per month. This plan will make it even easier for anyone with a smartphone to enjoy Netflix. At home or on the go, now more people can watch all the shows and movies Netflix has to offer, wherever and whenever they want,” said a Netflix spokesperson.
Here is everything we know so far about the mobile plan:
– The mobile plan can be accessed on a tablet or a smartphone and allows one stream in SD (520p). This means, that at one time, only one device can play it.
– Members who subscribe to the mobile plan will have the same access to the entire Netflix catalogue available in Africa.
– You can still have up to five different profiles on the mobile plan. However, you can only stream only on one device at a time.
– And as usual, there are no ads and you get all episodes at once, as you would with all the other existing plans.
It is worth noting that mobile plan users will have access to the same catalogue as well as all of your favourite features such as smart downloads, adaptive UI, five profiles, profile PINs and maturity settings.
There are also new innnovations to provide optimal streaming experience for mobile plan users.
There is adaptive Bitrate which intelligently makes streaming efficient and uses less mobile data for more hours spent streaming (to give you an idea, up to 6.5 hours on 1GB.)
Adaptive Android UI optimises the Netflix app intelligently for entry-level Android phones (phones with under 1GB RAM).
For the social media lovers, good news! You can also share to Instagram stories. Members of the mobile plan can let their friends know what you enjoyed or are enjoying on Netflix.
There is also smart downloads that helps you manage your downloaded series. It downloads the next episode over wi-fi, and deletes the one you have seen.
Including the mobile plan, the four price tiers in South Africa now are:
– Mobile: R49/month
– Basic: R99/month
– Standard: R139/month
– Premium: R169/month
These are the prices for other Sub-Saharan African countries.
The “Play partial download” feature
Netflix will launch a feature allowing members with Android phones and tablets (v7.64+) to start playback of a title or episode before it has completed downloading.
If you start watching a title that has yet to finish downloading, you will be prompted to download the rest of that movie or episode in a series once you are connected to wi-fi or cellular network.
This feature is available on Android phone and tablets only. Netflix will be testing the feature on iOS in the coming months.
“We're thinking about how our user experiences work and the features that are included in there. And we want those to adapt and evolve so that they can be responsive to the specific needs of a growing number of members around the world that have growing and diverse needs from our experiences,” said chief product officer and chief operating officer at Netflix, Greg Peters.
