Disney+ Gets Major Upgrade Around The World
A couple of months ago, Disney revealed its plans to give its streaming service, Disney+, a major update, to improve the homepage and beyond. As part of this upgrade, the homepage offers a more dynamic and intuitive experience.
The initial update was launched in the United States last month, as part of Disney’s plans to fully integrate Hulu into Disney+ as a unified app experience next year.
Today, international subscribers around the world have also seen Disney+ upgraded to match the US system, with a new top navigation bar being added to the top of the Disney+ homepage. This bar includes Disney+, Hulu and a new “For You” tab, which is the first screen subscribers will see when they click into Disney+. It’s the new homebase for recommended viewing, powered by an updated algorithm that learns user preferences over time.
Some international users also have access to an ESPN tab on the top navigation bar, though that will vary from country to country.
This is just one of the latest improvements to the Disney+ experience, as recently they’ve added new badging tags like “Season Finale,” “New Series,” and “New Movie” to show subscribers what’s been added.
Other improvements to Disney+ include moving some options to a side menu and making the homescreen feature fewer rows of rectangles and now mixing things up to catch users’ attention more with vertical boxes, mixed in with special sections.
Disney+ subscribers may need to update their apps to the latest version to get the new updated look, though over time, most apps should eventually be upgraded to the latest version. This new version may also be rolling out across different devices and platforms over the next day or more, so don’t panic if your Disney+ hasn’t been updated yet.
Here’s a look at the new look Disney+:
Roger’s Take: As with all updates, it’ll take some getting used to, but it’s very clear that Disney is making this “three” prong approach, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN, a global shift. I do like how Hulu is now becoming its own separate section within Disney+, more so than Star ever was, plus the “For You” homepage still has everything like the top ten, trending, and what’s new, but over time, it will become much more personalised. I also like how the Disney+ hub looks very similar to the way the app looked when it launched, with its five core hubs.
What do you think of these changes? Let me know on social media!
