UPDATED 04:05 EDT / DECEMBER 18 2015

NEWS

Cortana can now help you find what to watch on Netflix with revamped Windows 10 app

Microsoft reports that 110 million devices are currently running Windows 10 for, “billions and billions of hours” each month. Many of those hours were spent on Netflix, one of the first, and most downloaded and frequently used Windows 10 apps, according to Microsoft. We can now expect that frequency to rise after Microsoft reported that the new universal Netflix app will now run on PCs and tablets, available to download from the Windows Store in supported countries this week. The same app will come to smartphones and Xbox One sometime in 2016.

In a blog post Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Windows and devices chief, said, “Everything from the sign-in screen to the Netflix browsing experience has been updated to make it smoother, more responsive, and overall easier to use on Windows 10.”

In terms of smoothness Microsoft says it has made significant changes to the user interface, bringing in a new design for the details pages and also vertical scrolling for categories and horizontal scrolling when looking for items within the category. The new app also offers customizable tiles sizes for pinning to the Start Menu, which says Microsoft, will show artwork from titles in the member’s Continued Watching list once pinned.

The Details pages update means that you can view, “large cinematic artwork for the show or movie”, according to Netflix. For a show the Details view will give you specific information for an episode, while for a movie Details will suggest other content.

As well as the design results being updated so that you now get suggested results, users can also talk to Cortana when looking for movies or shows, as well as when launching the app – just say “Netflix” to Cortana. Microsoft says you can ask Cortana to “find”, “look up”, “look for” or “search” for content and the digital assistant will get to work.

Photo credit: Microsoft

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