While there are more streaming services than ever, Netflix is likely to be one of the first ones you think of. From Stranger Things to Squid Game, the streaming giant has consistently pulled in millions of subscribers, but if you're watching it on an older iPhone or iPad you may need to trade up to get your next binge-watch fix.

Netflix's app will soon no longer support iOS 16 or iPadOS 16, as per MacRumors. That means you'll need to update to iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 to continue using the app, but older devices won't be able to make that jump.

Notably, 2017's iPhone X and iPhone 8 models will be stuck with iOS 16, as well as anyone using the original iPad Pro.

Netflix won't work on these devices soon

The full list of affected devices is as follows:

• ‌iPhone‌ 8 and 8 Plus
• ‌iPhone‌ X
• ‌iPad‌ (5th gen)
• ‌iPad Pro‌ (1st gen)

While you, the discerning iMore reader, has likely upgraded since those devices were launched, it might be worth letting family members know their options to stop them from being marooned without Wednesday, Money Heist, or Bridgerton.

Netflix recently stopped letting users pay for their subscriptions via the App Store in order to get around Apple's cut of payments.

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Netflix is once again bringing the mobile gaming fight to Apple and the Apple Arcade service with a healthy dose of new additions to its Netflix games library.

Headlining a batch of five new games now available on the service is the critically acclaimed Arranger. A “role-puzzling” game, brain teasers are pushed to the fore of this Zelda-like adventure. 

It’s been praised for its innovative gameplay mechanics — as your adventurer moves through the tile-built world, those tiles move around them, and you’ll have to use the different properties of the shifting tiles to progress through the game’s dungeons.

It’s joined by action role-playing game The Dragon Prince: Xadia, based on the Netflix animated series The Dragon Prince, offering co-op anime-styled dungeon crawling.

The humorosly titled Sports Sports gives the game away with its name — it’s all about sports and is a pixel art track-and-field game with 12 events to take place in, well timed for the Paris Olympics taking place right now. It’s got three-player local co-op to let you challenge your mates with.

Rounding out the five new additions are Minesweeper — a travel-themed glow-up of the classic grid-based puzzler — and Too Hot to Handle 3, a dating game based on the horny Netflix show of the same name.

More to come

Though it’s not available today, there’s one more game waiting in the wings — August 15 will see the arrival of Netflix Stores: Emily in Paris. It’s a romantically-tinged interactive story that mirrors the events of the Emily in Paris TV show.

All the games are available on iOS devices and Android phones, and are available for free with a Netflix subscription.

Netflix has taken a really aggressive approach to carving out a gaming market share in the past year, with more than 100 games now available as part of the service. It’s got a great balance of ‘core’ gaming titles — big action hits such as the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy and Hades, strategy titles like Into The Breach, and beat-em-ups like Turtles Shredder’s Revenge — and more casual tabletop, card and puzzle games. That they’re thrown in for free on top of a Netflix subscription only sweetens the deal — and makes the $6.99 Apple Arcade subscription start to feel a bit pricey.

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No, you’re not reading this wrong — you can download exclusive games as long as you have an active Netflix subscription, and it’s glorious.

My wife and I have been Netflix subscribers for years because of the many documentaries available on the service. When I saw that the company was going to offer iPhone games as part of its subscription, my first reaction to the news was an eye-roll. I was expecting adaptations of its shows and movies, such as Stranger Things and House of Cards.

Imagine my surprise in December 2023, when Netflix announced three classic Grand Theft Auto games were to be made available as part of its gaming efforts. Not only that, but these were to be the remastered editions that still aren’t available separately to buy. Fast forward to 2024, and I can now play games such as Hades, a roguelike action game, and Sonic Mania Plus — a game that I regard as one of the series’ best since the blue blur starred in Sonic 3 on the SEGA Mega Drive, way back in 1994.

It’s this amazing effort by Netflix in the past year that has made me reconsider what it’s like to play certain games on my iPhone 15 Pro Max as part of a subscription. Granted, I can sign up for Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription service, but it doesn’t include these classics by Rockstar and SEGA.

Although there are three games I’m playing non-stop thanks to Netflix, here’s why you should consider exploring all of the games the company offers — especially if you’re a new or existing customer.

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Why Netflix’s method of offering games is an ingenious one

Netflix’s games offering on iPhone and iPad is ingenious. Every game is currently exclusive to the service and can be downloaded from the App Store. However, once you reach the title screen of these games, you must sign in with an active Netflix account to proceed any further. This moment must be tempting for potential customers, as they can download these games and see what they could be playing if they were subscribed to Netflix.

These games also come with support for third-party controllers, such as those offered by 8BitDo, Xbox, and more. Although these titles are only available on iPhone and iPad, you can play them on other Apple devices by using the AirPlay mirroring feature. Go to Control Center > AirPlay Mirroring, and select your Mac or Apple TV. Your iPhone or iPad’s display will then appear on the device you’re mirroring.

Let’s not forget though — these games are part of your subscription, with no extra cost. That includes all three of Netflix’s tiers — from the $6.99 / £4.99 per month Standard tier to the $22.99 / £17.99 per month Premium tier. That’s a fantastic value proposition if you’re currently finding it difficult to find something to watch on your iPhone. Instead, you could download games like Katana Zero or Sonic.

Netflix is clearly committed to offering more games for its users, with over 80 games available for iPhone and iPad. The next game, Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, an RPG adventure, arrives on June 25. With the amount already offered, I’m curious as to what else will appear on the service by the time 2024 wraps up.

As I’ve mentioned before, since December I’ve been downloading and playing the games Netflix offers. With this in mind, here are three games I’ve been playing non-stop lately — all of which you can play right now with an active Netflix subscription.

Sonic Mania Plus

Sonic Mania Plus was a surprise to so many when it was released back in 2017 because it was the first 2D Sonic pixel game to be made by SEGA in over 20 years. It also helped that the game was being made by a prolific few in the Sonic community who had managed to create some fantastic hacks, such as playing as Knuckles in Sonic 1 — something that was impossible back in 1994.

Taking place over 13 levels, Sonic Mania Plus features a mix of levels from past Sonic games, like Green Hill Zone and Flying Battery Zone, as well as new ones, such as Studiopolis Zone. I regard Sonic Mania as highly as Sonic 3 & Knuckles from 1994, mainly because of the fantastic level design, great bosses, and music that perfectly suits the game.

I was very surprised to see Netflix announcing that a version was to be made available for iPhone and iPad through its service earlier this year. It meant that I could replay the game all over again, and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing on my iPhone. Nothing has been changed with this new port, it’s the same game released in 2017, and I couldn’t be happier.

GTA: Vice City

There’s a good chance that you’ve played GTA: Vice City on Apple devices before — but this is the first time that the remastered Definitive Edition has been made available for iPhone and iPad. This release features brand-new graphics, new weather effects, new ways to aim at targets, and more.

I should note, however, that when Definitive Edition came out in 2021, it was beset with issues. For example, character models would be janky in cut scenes, weather effects such as rain wouldn’t be transparent, covering the display, and much more. Three years on though and it looks like the major bugs have been fixed in this mobile version.

Vice City shines on my iPhone 15 Pro Max, especially when I use a third-party controller like the 8BitDo Pro 2. This game perfectly showcases why using touch-screen controls can be a frustrating experience, especially when you try to target an enemy, drive a vehicle, and much more. With the 8BitDo Pro 2, I can control the game just like I used to on the PlayStation 2 version of Vice City. The lighting and graphics as I drive down the beach are fantastic. I’ve found myself spending hours in the game as I complete missions and try to collect the secret packages scattered throughout the city.

Hades

I first played Hades on my Nintendo Switch, not long after the game’s release in September 2020. Much of the world was still in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the United Kingdom, so some days would be spent playing games. Hades was one such example, and I was hooked within five minutes of starting the game.

Hades is a roguelike action game presented in an isometric viewpoint. You go through multiple rooms, fighting a bunch of enemies, and once you win, you get to collect a power-up that can boost your attacks, defense, or more. That’s essentially what Hades entails, and it’s fantastically addictive because of it.

You’ll find yourself coming back to the game to beat several rooms, just so you can build up more skills for attacks. I did this in 2020 on my Switch, and I’m doing it all over again on my iPhone, thanks to Netflix. The touch controls on the display work surprisingly well — I found myself easily defeating hordes of enemies with this as I was on a train at the weekend for example. Hades is a fantastic game, and as the sequel was released for PC just last month, I’m already holding out hope that Hades 2 is coming to iPhone through Netflix sooner rather than later.

A great start to Netflix’s gaming offering

It’s not a huge surprise that I’ve been impressed with the gaming catalog that Netflix has released so far on iPhone and iPad. In addition to the three games I’ve mentioned, there’s even more that can appeal to those who love Soccer, RPGs, and more.

It would be great to see some of these games be made available for other Apple devices, such as Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro. Playing GTA: Vice City on one of these systems would be fantastic, and would perfectly replicate that feeling of playing the game on Sony’s PlayStation 2 console all those years ago.

For now, I’m content playing Sonic Mania and other games through the service, and I’m excited to see what else Netflix has planned for the future.

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Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services. So of it course it has a dedicated streaming app on most platforms. But where do users watch most? On their TV, naturally. And Netflix on your TV is about to look totally different, thanks to this incoming redesign.

The Netflix app on the excellent Apple TV 4K, other streaming devices, and smart TVs is testing a spiffy new look. It offers a homepage where static tiles are gone. Now, as soon as your remote's cursor flirts with a title, the box will expand, making all that glorious content burst onto your screen.

What else is changing in the redesigned Netflix?

With this revamp, you only need to hover over a title and a mini-preview starts playing right within the tile. And, if you linger a bit longer, you’ll get all the juicy details below the box: synopsis, release year, episode count, genre. All the info is there, so there's no need to go hunting. Netflix’s current layout showcases trailers and other info at the top of the screen. The new design consolidates everything, making the whole interface feel more cohesive and less like a scavenger hunt.

According to Pat Flemming, Netflix’s senior director of product, the brand is doing this to save us from "doing gymnastics with our eyes." Bless. Netflix also ditched the clunky left-side menu. Instead, you’ll find a sleek new menu bar at the top with options like search, home, shows, movies, and My Netflix.

Some of the old menu's clutter, like Categories and New & Popular, has been shown the door. But fret not, Categories is still accessible through the search tab, and the new My Netflix tab, which debuted on mobile last year, is now part of the TV experience. This nifty tab offers personalised recommendations and quick access to your recently watched or saved titles.

This overhaul is Netflix's "first effort" at what they think will be a smashing new TV experience. With the platform dabbling in live events, the new design couldn’t come at a better time. For now, this redesign is being tested with a select group of subscribers on smart TVs and streaming devices. If all goes well, Netflix hopes to roll it out to the masses in the coming months.

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It seems like a long time ago now that everyone was talking about cutting the cable. The plan was to ditch the cable contracts that so many people paid for yet found themselves only watching a small portion of the content that was available. The reality was that we all had hundreds of channels with countless shows, movies, and documentaries available. But how many did we actually watch?

The idea, then, was to ditch all of that and then only pay for what we actually wanted to watch. The growth of streaming, fast internet connections, and the many different sources of content provided an option for people who wanted something different. But after a few years of streaming eating the lunch of traditional cable companies, those same cable companies are coming back with a vengeance — and they're using the same model we all tried to escape not so long ago.

The latest is Comcast, a company that is now ready to offer a combined streaming bundle that will include Apple TV Plus, Netflix, and Peacock for one monthly fee that will “come at a vastly reduced price to anything in the market today.” But is that actually a good thing, or are we ushering in a return to the bad old days?

Stream on

The Comcast news comes after Variety reported on the plans which were outed by Brian Roberts, the company's chairperson. Roberts was speaking at MoffettNathanson’s 2024 Media, Internet and Communications Conference in New York.

The new streaming bundle will be called StreamSaver and while there is no confirmation yet as to how much we can expect it to cost, Roberts did suggest that subscribers can expect to make significant savings over paying for Apple TV Plus, Netflix, and Peacock ad-hoc.

The aim, we're told, is to “add value to consumers” all while simultaneously trying to “take some of the dollars out of” other businesses. Then, we got to the nugget of the bundle.

“We’ve been bundling video successfully and creatively for 60 years, and so this is the latest iteration of that,” Roberts apparently said. “I think this will be a pretty compelling package.” And that, right there, is the key aspect of Comcast's plan. Having seen people's stance on traditional cable bundling change, the company is trying to pick that model up and move it to streaming, wholesale, with little if any tweaks.

Ultimately, anything that saves consumers money has to be a good thing and if you're already a subscriber to the three streaming services in question this new StreamSaver bundle seems to be a no-brainer. But my hope is that this isn't going to be a slippery slope that ultimately sees us paying companies like Comcast a flat fee and getting access to a dozen streaming services, most of which we don't want. That would be a huge step backward in my mind.

All of that being said, streaming companies must take some blame here. The ever-increasing prices of these services make the unbundling we all sought years ago make less and less sense. In real terms, paying for services ad-hoc could one day wind up costing even more than those cable bundles we hated so much.

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Netflix increasing the price of its streaming offering is a story as old as time at this point, and it's one that seems likely to have more sequels than the Fast and the Furious movies. But its latest move has angered people across two whole countries, and in the process, it's also managed to shine a spotlight on one of its biggest rivals. The result? People are ready to cancel Netflix in their droves, and there's one obvious destination — Apple TV Plus.

Netflix has started to warn subscribers to its Basic tier in the United Kingdom and Canada that their viewing is coming to something of an impasse. The Basic tier, which offers ad-free viewing with an admittedly paltry 720p resolution, is going away on June 4. Subscribers will automatically be moved to the Standard with Ads plan, saving a little money in the process. But as the name suggests, that tier comes with ads, and people really don't want to watch them.

There's an option for those people, though. They can choose to upgrade to the ad-free tier and pay more. But what Netflix is missing is that there's a third, perhaps better option. It includes canceling Netflix and spending the money elsewhere and, dare I say it, Apple TV Plus is a great option to alight upon.

Ad-free viewing and more

First, the background. Netflix wants more money and as TechRadar reports, the Basic plan is going away. In the UK, that Basic plan costs £7.99 per month and the Standard with Ads plan that subscribers will be moved to is actually cheaper, just £4.99 per month. Those subscribers will also benefit from additional features including a 1080p streaming quality and the ability to watch on more devices at the same time. But, there are ads. And we already know how people feel about ads.

They do not like them one bit, that's how they feel about ads.

Getting rid of ads means choosing a tier that costs £10.99 per month, and that's enough to have plenty of people ready to throw in the towel and go elsewhere, as is their prerogative. So where do they put their £7.99 per month?

The Apple TV Plus streaming service currently costs £8.99 per month in the UK, which is more than £7.99 but not so much that most people are likely to notice. There are no ads, either, so that's one big checkbox taken care of. Content is available in 4K UHD with HDR support and all those fancy audio features people get so excited about are also present and correct. And we didn't even get to the best bit yet, either.

While it's absolutely fair to say that Netflix has a considerably larger library than Apple TV Plus, it's easy to argue that the former's approach of quantity over quality has come into sharp relief in recent years.

By contrast, Apple TV Plus seems to be on something of a roll. Whether it's a new TV show, a hit movie, or a must-watch documentary, there's something for everyone on Apple TV Plus right now. There are multiple seasons of Ted Lasso, the global phenomenon. There's Slow Horses of course, and who can forget Severance — although the lack of a second season does make that easier than I'd like.

Silo is a huge show for people who've already blown through Fallout, with more seasons on the way. Then there's the upcoming Dark Matter sci-fi epic, the amazing For All Mankind, and who can forget Foundation, too? Granted, we'd rather forget about See, but that's the odd one out here. And at just £1 more than the tier Netflix is taking away, Apple TV Plus is an absolute steal.

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Do you pay for your Netflix subscription through the App Store? If so, you’ll need to make a change as Netflix looks set to stop taking payments through Apple.

Back in 2018, the streaming giant stopped taking new subscribers that signed up via App Store billing, yet older legacy customers that have paid through Apple’s in-app purchases were able to continue doing so. 

Now, it looks like time has been called on those legacy subscribers as Netflix has begun notifying customers that they must update payment information and start paying for the streaming service directly through the company’s own website.

Netflix’s support page reads, “Some Apple-billed members in select countries may be prompted to add a new payment method to continue their subscription.”

By leaving the App Store billing system completely, Netflix will no longer need to pay Apple a percentage for each of the subscriptions purchased through the App Store. It is unclear how many users this affects.

An annoyance for subscribers

This isn’t the first time a subscription service has removed the ability to continue your subscription via the App Store. 

Spotify did a similar thing a few months ago, similarly expressing discontent between service providers and the charges from Apple on the App Store. 

One thing is clear — it’s the consumer that loses out. Seeing all your subscriptions in the Settings app is a fantastic way to keep on top of where your money is going, and it’s a shame that this is becoming less and less possible.

Currently, Apple charges 30% fees for apps and in-app purchases on the App Store, and companies like Netflix, which rely on a subscription-based model, deem the cut far too much.

While it’s highly unlikely that Netflix or Spotify would return to offering subscriptions via Apple’s billing system, it would be nice to allow iPhone users to add subscription payment dates and prices into the Settings app to keep on top of their monthly outgoings. With iOS 18 quickly approaching, maybe we’ll see a manual way to add subscriptions so you can get the best of both worlds despite the quarrels between companies.

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In a new interview, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters has revealed he doesn’t think Apple Vision Pro is relevant to its subscribers for the foreseeable future.

Speaking with Stratchery, Peters was asked about the absence of a native Netflix app on Apple’s headset. “We have to be careful about making sure that we’re not investing in places that are not really yielding a return, and I would say we’ll see where things go with Vision Pro,” Peters revealed. “Certainly, we’re always in discussions with Apple to try and figure that out but right now, the device is so subscale that it’s not particularly relevant to most of our members.”

Apple does allow developers to port their iPad apps to Vision Pro rather than create new native ones, but Peters didn't explain why Netflix has declined to take advantage of this.

It’s worth noting that YouTube and Spotify have also declined to support the headset, advising users to log into their sites with the Safari web browser instead. Since September 2023, Apple has allowed developers to port their iPhone and iPad apps on Vision Pro by simply ticking a box in Xcode. For Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube to not do this is simply baffling, but this move may likely spur some to satisfy their entertainment needs elsewhere, and with apps like Disney+, Apple TV Plus, and more getting support, there are plenty of alternatives to choose from.

A unique opportunity for Apple TV Plus — iMore’s take

My wife and I have been watching a lot of what Apple’s streaming service has to offer — from Long Way Up, to For All Mankind. These have been fantastic from start to finish, and the quality of Apple's original content and the curation of its titles shines over Netflix's "quantity-over-quality" approach.

Apple recently announced ‘Immersive Originals’ coming to Apple TV Plus on Vision Pro as an exclusive feature. Since rivals like Netflix and YouTube aren't releasing their own apps on the platform, it's possible that Vision Pro users might look to Apple TV Plus for their immersive entertainment fix instead.

These potential subscription changes won’t solely be due to Apple TV Plus being one of the few subscription services to have a native app on the headset either. visionOS will offer plenty of immersive experiences, such as enabling the user to enlarge the display with a pinch gesture, and watching a movie in Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater, thanks to its Environments feature. It's features like these that could spur users to try and adopt Apple TV Plus into their weekly watching habits.

Unfortunately, Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube are doing a disservice to the customers who will be picking up Vision Pro — regardless of how small that market may be to begin with. In turn, this opens up an opportunity for Netflix and YouTube subscribers especially, to switch to Apple TV Plus, and take advantage of exclusive features like Environments and Immersive Video in Vision Pro. It’s all to play for with Apple TV Plus when it comes to Apple’s headset, and it could give moviegoers an amazing experience that its streaming rivals are simply refusing to offer for now.

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When Apple's Vision Pro headset finally goes on sale on February 2 there will be plenty of apps for early adopters to download from the App Store. But Netflix won't be one of them after the video streaming company decided against making a Spatial Computing version of its app designed specifically for the Vision Pro. What's more, Netflix also decided against flicking the switch that would allow Vision Pro owners to use its iPad app on the platform, too.

The latter decision is the most strange, but we now know exactly why Netflix took the former one — there just won't be enough Vision Pro headsets in use to make it worth the company's time to develop a new app. That might change, of course. But right now Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters sees Apple's Vision Pro as being "so subscale that it’s not really particularly relevant to most of our members."

The result? Those Netflix members who splashed at least $3,499 on a new Vision Pro headset will have to resort to tapping away in Safari to visit the Netflix website instead of using an app specially crafted for the job. They'll watch blockbuster Netflix movies and binge-worthy TV shows on the web as if they were watching on their work laptop during their lunch break, not using Apple's big — and expensive — bet on Spatial Computing.

Apple's too 'subscale' for Netflix

Peters was discussing Netflix's Vision Pro stance in an interview with Stratechery's Ben Thompson. The interview wasn't specifically aimed at the Vision Pro, but attention understandably turned to it almost immediately.

Thompson pointed out that it's "a part of Netflix’s ethos to be on every hardware platform" but that Vision Pro won't be included. Peters responded by saying that "even when you note we look at as close to ubiquity on devices perspective, the decisions that lead to that are we try and be very rigorous about, 'What’s the effort to integrate on any given set of devices and what’s the benefit for the members that we serve?'”

Peters went on to say that Netflix has to be "careful about making sure that we’re not investing in places that are not really yielding a return" before adding that the plan is to "see where things go with Vision Pro." Peters also confirmed that Netflix is in discussions with Apple to try and figure out the best course of Action, but he did note that there just aren't enough users to make the time spent creating a Vision Pro app worthwhile.

That could change in the future, of course. If the Vision Pro turns out to be the next big thing, as Apple clearly believes, we can surely expect Netflix and other holdouts like Spotify and YouTube to change their approach to the platform.

But while Peters' explanation for the lack of a Vision Pro app makes sense, he didn't explain why the company chose not to launch its iPad app in the visionOS App Store instead.

While unconfirmed, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggested on the X social network that Netflix had tried to go the iPad route but it was found that it "looked terrible." He posits that Apple then asked Netflix to create a proper visionOS app and the streamer decided against it.

Whether that's accurate or not, we don't know right now. But we do know that watching Netflix via Safari seems like quite a workaround for a headset that costs at least $3,499. Whether that's a better experience than a sub-par iPad app we will have to wait until February 2 to find out.

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If you were looking forward to using Apple Vision Pro with native YouTube and Spotify apps once the headset launches on February 2, we’ve got bad news for you.

According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, not only are these companies joining Netflix in not offering a Vision Pro app — but their iPad apps, which can easily be made to work on the headset, won’t be allowed on the platform either.

Instead, you’ll be asked to use Apple’s Safari web browser — completely missing the point of what a video app is capable of with Vision Pro. Other streaming apps, like Disney Plus, are confirmed for the headset and, in Disney's case, will take advantage of features like Environments. So, if you’d like to sit in Luke Skywalker’s speeder in Tatooine from Star Wars and watch a 3D movie via Disney Plus, you can.

However, when it comes to using YouTube, Spotify, or Netflix, you’ll have no choice but to type in each URL on Safari for Vision Pro.

A baffling decision by all — iMore’s take

Since September 2023, Apple has allowed developers to let their iPhone and iPad apps work on Vision Pro. It’s nothing more than ticking a box in Xcode, Apple’s developer platform for creating these apps, to enable this function.

For reasons known only to these three musketeers, the checkbox is something they’re not prepared to do.

In a time where these services have raised their subscription prices in order to, essentially, survive — the ease of simply downloading the apps to Vision Pro is not possible. That ease of use may be what could tempt users of these services to cancel their subscription with these three apps — especially when you’ll be able to access apps like Disney Plus on the headset.

Hopefully, all three will reverse course and click that checkbox for their iPad apps to work on Vision Pro. For now, though, if you decide to buy Apple’s headset, make sure that you’ve got these services bookmarked in Safari so you can easily access them in visionOS when the time comes.

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Games don't come more popular than the Grand Theft Auto series — and Netflix has just snapped up three of them for its blossoming gaming service, just in time for the holidays, bringing them to iPhone.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition, will be available to Netflix subscribers from December 14 on iOS and Android devices, via the Netflix mobile app, as well as through Apple App Store and Google Play listings.

The package pulls together the first three iconic 3D Grand Theft Auto games — GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas — in new mobile ports of the remastered versions of the games that relaunched in November 2021.

Though the ports themselves were widely derided  (I wasn't a big fan upon release), the core of those games remain stone-cold classics, creating the blueprint for all open-world games that followed in their wake.

Netflix has slowly been building up its games service as a no-extra-fee value add to its TV and movie streaming service. Though reports suggest few of its subscribers are taking it up on the offer of free games, household names like GTA will likely fuel a surge in interest — provided the ports are good, that is. With GTA's cinematic leanings, a Netflix partnership is a solid one.

Netflix takes on Apple Arcade

The Netflix gaming library is a small one, but an incredibly well-curated one. As well as the incoming GTA games, this year it's adding top-tier titles like Football Manager 2024, Hades, Kentucky Route Zero, Death's Door, Immortality, and more to its roster. It's a quality over quantity approach, and for no added cost over a regular Netflix subscription, superb value.

It positions itself head to head now with Apple's own Apple Arcade subscription service, putting a massive library of titles in the hands of iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple TV gamers. But Apple's approach seems to differ from Netflix's, instead focussing on what many would consider casual (albeit addictive) mobile games. Puzzlers, gem matchers, word games, and the like.

Apple's high-end gaming approach instead seems to be to court AAA developers to its mobile and Mac platforms in a holistic way, as it pushes the gaming appeal of its devices further. The recently released mobile port of Capcom's Resident Evil: Village impressed, and is to be followed up before the end of the year with Resident Evil 4 Remake, while Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Mirage are set to land on iPhone 15 Pro next year.

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• How to access Netflix games on iPhone and iPad
• Why iPhone gamers shouldn't ignore Netflix Games

Streaming platform Netflix has announced that it is increasing the price of its subscriptions yet again, this time affecting customers in the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

The move comes after the company also started cracking down on the number of people who access its content via a single account. So-called password sharing meant that people would have a single account and then share their passwords with friends and family. Netflix has been cracking down on that for months in a bid to increase subscriber numbers.

But despite the success of that program and more subscribers coming on board, Netflix says that prices are going to increase by $3 per month. The move means that a Netflix Premium account will now cost $22.99 rather than the $18.99 that was previously charged. This of course makes the Apple TV Plus subscription even more of a bargain, priced at just $6.99 per month without any ads.

Prices and subscribers are going up

The BBC reports that customers in the United Kingdom will see their Basic subscriptions increase from £6.99 to £7.99 while those in France will see a Netflix Premium plan cost an extra €2, taking the monthly fee to €19.99.

Those in the United States will see the Basic Plan increase from $9.99 to $11.99 per month, but the ad-supported $6.99 subscription remains untouched for now. The same goes for the Standard plan and its $15.49 asking price.

The price hikes might surprise some given Netflix's claim that it added almost nine million new subscribers in the July to September quarter when compared to the same period last year.

Despite a smaller library, Apple TV Plus is now even better value thanks to a slate of high-quality TV shows, movies, and documentaries. And while Netflix does have much more content for customers to choose from, some might argue that the vast majority of it isn't all that good. Sometimes quality is better than quantity.

More from iMore

• Apple TV Plus: The ultimate guide
• The best shows on Apple TV Plus right now (August)
• Netflix: Everything you need to know!

Bringing the streaming giant up-to-date with other game streaming services, Netflix has just announced Mac and PC support for its Netflix Games service. Launching with two games, the rest of the lineup is sure to follow at a later date.

Originally launching back in November 2021 with just a handful of games, Netflix Games has added a whole host of new titles from puzzle games like Cut the Rope all the way up to recent indie hits like Spiritfarer and Immortality. 

Overnight, testing has begun on select TVs, as well as Macs and PCs — checking to see how well Netflix Games work on brand-new devices. This comes with its unique control schemes and the likelihood of more support further down the line. 

Netflix continues to push into gaming

In a press release Monday, Netflix said “This limited beta is meant to test our game streaming technology and controller, and to improve the member experience over time”

In this, they announced the following TV brands would work with Netflix Games:

• Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players
• Chromecast with Google TV
• LG TVs
• Nvidia Shield TV
• Roku devices and TVs
• Samsung Smart TVs
• Walmart ONN

Over this period, customers have access to Oxenfree, a story-driven adventure game with a time loop mechanic, and Molehew’s Mining Adventure, an arcade mining game. These give a broad range from the first two titles. Oxenfree is engrossing and enchanting, acting rather like a TV Show. Molehew’s Mining Adventure is fun and low stakes — a way to kill some time.

If you are planning on playing on TV, you can use your iPhone as a controller. Just type in “Netflix Game Controller” on the App Store and download it to connect to your TV. If you want to play on your MacBook, compatible Netflix Games come with keyboard and mouse support.

Over time, Netflix will be further supporting compatible games and bringing new games to the service. This is a sign that Netflix could eventually try and compete with services like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Amazon Luna, and PlayStation Now. Up until now, they have relied largely on smaller games but purchasing Night School Studio and Boss Fight Entertainment last year only cements their commitment to game streaming.

Apple's Vision Pro headset will go on sale in the early knockings of 2024 according to the company but there's one app that buyers won't be installing — a dedicated Vision Pro Netflix app.

That's according to a new report which claims that Apple's headset will have to make do with a retooled iPad app instead. Vision Pro has been confirmed to run iPad apps when required, and the report suggests that's exactly what Netflix is going to have people do.

The move means that anyone hoping to enjoy a VR-specific version of Netflix is going to be left out, but they'll at least be able to watch content even if it isn't built with the headset in mind.

A Netflix reality

This is all according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman who mentioned the streaming giant in his weekly Power On newsletter.

"I’m told that the company has no current plans to develop a native app for the Vision Pro," Gurman said. Of course, Netflix will still let its iPad app run on the headset unmodified.

Netflix isn't thought to be the only company set to take the easy route out, but competitor Disney Plus is set to be one that will put the work in. The same can also be expected of Apple TV Plus for obvious reasons, and Apple is already said to be working on special VR versions of content to get the most out of the headset when it ships.

As for the rest of the App Store, pricing will determine how popular apps actually are among people who have just forked out $3,499 for the headset itself. Gurman suggests that pricing will be around $20 depending on the app.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if $20 is the new $1 for most Vision Pro apps," Gurman posits. "And we could see many of them costing between $50 and $250, especially in the graphic design or productivity categories." As for gaming, that's anyone's guess right now. "Games on the Vision Pro may even be priced closer to their console equivalents, somewhere in the range of $40 to $60, compared with much lower levels on the iPhone and iPad," Gurman offers.

With Apple's headset still potentially as far as 12 months out, at least developers will have plenty of time to get their apps ready.

After launching an ad-supported tier, Netflix has now removed its cheapest ad-free option in a move that makes Apple TV Plus seem even better value than before.

The Netflix tier change has taken place in the United States and the United Kingdom and happened in Canada last month. As a result, Netflix's cheapest ad-free $9.99 / £6.99 tiers have been removed as options for new subscribers.

However, those who are already on that tier will continue to pay the same price as before until they change tier or cancel their subscription.

No ads on Apple

Netflix's new tier system starts with the ad-supported $6.99 plan and increases from there depending on what features you want. By contrast, Apple TV Plus costs just $6.99 per month and doesn't have any ads at all, making it better value and a better viewing experience.

Things of course get worse when you remember that Netflix subscribers must pay $19.99 per month for 4K HDR streaming, something that's offered as standard on most streaming platforms — including Apple TV Plus.

In a statement to The Verge Netflix said that the company's "starting prices of $6.99 in the US and £4.99 in the UK are lower than the competition." But again, those prices both require that people sit and watch ads during their viewing.

You can of course watch Apple TV Plus and Netflix on just about anything including the Apple TV 4K. There's no denying that Apple's set-top box is a little expensive though, so be sure to check out our collection of cheaper Apple TV alternatives before making your purchase decision. Failing that, most smart televisions and game consoles also offer apps that you can use instead.

Research conducted by Future between May 2022 and March 2023 has revealed that as the cost of living bites, 50% of respondents in both the UK and the US are stopping or cutting back on entertainment subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify. 

The research, which is powering the relaunch of our tech-expert buddies over at TechRadar, was conducted over three separate surveys in May 22, September 22, and March 2023. 

It comes as the cost of living crisis and rising inflations sees consumers searching for ways to cut costs or to find better value in the services and subscriptions they pay for. 

Cutting back

The cost of living research asked TechRadar readers whether they would consider, or had recently started "stopping or cutting back on entertainment subscriptions (e.g .Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video etc)." 

50% of readers in both the UK and the US answered yes, showing that half of all consumers are tightening their belts when it comes to digital subscriptions. 

It comes as Netflix clamps down on password sharing amongst users, and has rolled out an even cheaper ad-supported tier. With subscription fatigue now stronger than ever, it's clear that digital subscriptions in general are on the chopping block. 

Interestingly, however, purchases of physical tech are much more important. Both US and UK respondents said they were more likely to cut back on eating out, going to the bar/pub, and similar socializing before putting planned tech purchases on hold or canceling altogether. 

90% of TechRadar's core audience and 86% of all respondents say they agreed that it was now "more important than ever" to get a good deal on tech. That means events like Amazon Prime Day, which has already brought a swathe of great Prime Day Apple deals to the table, are the perfect opportunity to make some handy savings. 

In a move that was always going to happen but is still going to come as a disappointment to many, streaming outfit Netflix says it's going to start charging people to share their accounts.

If you live in a handful of countries you're probably already dealing with that of course, with Canada and Spain just two of those that have had what Netflix calls "paid sharing" for a while now. But what's significant is that Netflix now says it's bringing paid sharing to the United States for the first time. More countries are also on the way, although we don't know which ones just yet.

What's more, paid sharing is coming soon. Very soon indeed.

Netflix gettin' paid

Netflix confirmed that paid sharing is coming to the United States as part of a broader rollout in the second quarter of 2023. That means that it will happen within the next couple of months or so.

Paid sharing came about when Netflix decided that people sharing their passwords with other people outside their homes just wasn't something it wanted to allow anymore. It's even something Netflix itself once famously promoted, but no more.

Seemingly aware that people won't pay full price for another account, paid sharing lets the account holder pay a little bit more to allow additional people to access their account. Netflix hasn't said how much it'll charge in the United States, however.

The news came as part of a Netflix investors' note in which the streamer also confirmed that it is doing away with its DVD business. The last DVD will be mailed out on September 29, 2023, bringing to an end a 25-year run of those little red envelopes.

With DVDs gone, you might be on the lookout for a new way to watch Netflix. The Apple TV 4K is one way, but it isn't cheap. Thankfully, there are plenty of less expensive Apple TV alternatives on the market that will do much the same job — at least in terms of streaming your latest Netflix obsession.

With more streaming services out there than cookies in the Oreo aisle, it’s hard to pay for them all. With the cost of living rising dramatically and Netflix cracking down on password sharing to try and raise its profits, many of us are looking for the best value for money that the whole family can benefit from. 

To combat losing millions of subscribers last year, Netflix recently added a new subscription option to Apple TV users, which is lower quality 720P and has ads for $6.99/month. If that floats your boat, this guide isn’t for you, but for those looking to cancel the streaming service to move to Apple TV Plus or save some cash, here’s how.

How to cancel Netflix on iPhone and iPad

If you signed up to Netflix via in-app purchase on the app for iPhone or iPad, then there's an easy way to unsubscribe on your iOS device itself. These steps work for all subscriptions on iOS, so if you're ever trying to cancel a subscription, the subscription will be found here.

This means that if you opt to try out Apple TV Plus after canceling Netflix, you will come to the same Subscriptions tab if you decide that Apple's streaming service isn't the right option for you.

This method only works if you’ve subscribed to Netflix through the application on iOS. Otherwise, you’ll need to access Netflix on a web browser. 

How to cancel Netflix on the web

Now that Netflix has removed the option to subscribe to Netflix directly from the iOS app, most of us subscribe to the service through the website directly. If you want to cancel your Netflix subscription and haven't signed up through the legacy iOS in-app purchases then you'll need to login via the web.

1. Head to Netflix.com on Safari on your Mac or iOS device
2. Login to your account and click on Account in the top right corner when hovering over your icon

3. Click Cancel Membership
4. Click Finish Cancellation

Once your Netflix subscription is canceled, you have ten months to resubscribe to retain your profile information and watchlists.

Is Apple TV Plus the best option for your family?

If you’re canceling your Netflix subscription, then chances are you want a new streaming service to try. Apple TV Plus is one of the newer kids on the block, but there are many reasons to try Apple’s streaming service. 

If the crackdown on password sharing was the main reason for opting out of Netflix, Apple TV Plus has you covered. For $6.99/month, your whole family can access Apple TV Plus with family sharing included as standard. Additionally, Apple TV Plus includes 4K streaming at the same price as Netflix’s cheapest 720P option. Ok, the content is different, but some of the best Apple TV Plus shows, like Ted Lasso, and the best Apple TV Plus movies, such as Coda, are well worth giving the seven-day free trial a go. 

Nowadays, there are far too many streaming services to pick from, so sometimes, shaking it up is a great way to find new content and get the best streaming options possible.

Netflix's most basic subscription plan, a $6.99 tier supported by advertising, is now available for users of the Apple TV.

Announced in October, "Basic with Ads" is Netflix's newest entry-level plan thanks to its very... well... basic offering. For $6.99, users get 720p streaming and can't even access the full Netflix library, and you also can't download content to devices like the iPhone and iPad. A far more annoying drawback for some users, however, was that since the launch the Netflix Basic with Ads tier did not work on Apple TV.

Now though, Netflix has rectified that with version 2.3.0 of its Apple TV app. "Ad tier now works on Apple TV," Reddit'su/websgeisti revealed this week. Previously, trying to access Netflix Basic with Ads on Apple TV just rendered a message asking you to upgrade to a better plan or try a different method of watching.

Apple TV gets Netflix with ads

With the cost of living crisis biting harder than ever before, it's understandable that people would try to trim back on some costs when it comes to streaming and entertainment, especially given that there are now more streaming services than ever before.

However, a $6.99 monthly fee for a service that puts out 720p quality video and is filled with adverts sounds like an absolute nightmare. Perhaps intentionally, it makes the $3 jump to Netflix Basic, which doesn't feature ads and has downloads, a great deal.

Given that the best Apple TV, the Apple TV 4K (2022), puts out 4K HDR, Dolby Vision, and HDR 10+ with support for Dolby Atmos, owners of the Apple TV probably won't be rushing out of the door to sign up for Netflix's most frugal plan. However, at least the option is now there for users who are interested or want to save some cash.

If you like your movies in surround sound, then you're going to love that Netflix is offering the spatial audio standard on more of its titles. What you're unlikely to enjoy is that you'll need to pay for the premium 4K subscription. That is $20 a month, which, compared to other streaming services, is a lot.

Variety reported that Netflix would be bringing support for Spatial Audio last summer. It's designed to be used with any existing stereo speakers, bringing 360-degree immersive audio to even the lowliest of laptop speakers.

This Spatial Audio isn't from Apple

Apple where the first to coin the term 'Spatial Audio', using some very clever programming to place audio all around the listener. Several other companies now offer a Spatial audio offering, and Netflix is going to use a standard developed by Sennhieser, called the AMBEO 2-channel Spatial Audio.

Netflix is releasing 700 or so movies in the Spatial Audio standard, and a small number will be available to users in the non-premium streaming tier. As said up top, however, you're going to need the most expensive option to get all of them. In a blog post on Netflix's website, Director of Product Management Rishu Arora said:

"Netflix’s Premium plan already offers the highest quality viewing experience, with beautiful, crisp, 4K HDR video resolution without ads, the ability to watch and download series and films on four supported devices at a time, and more. Now, with Netflix spatial audio, our members with Premium will enjoy the highest quality sound experience available, whether they are watching at home on TV or a computer, or on the go with a phone or tablet."

If you'd like to find out what Netflix's version of Spatial Audio sounds like, you can check out the video below. It, like Spatial audio on Netflix itself, will work with any speakers or headphones.

You can still use Apple's spatial audio with Netflix, so you'll get in on the AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 2, and the AirPods Max as well as others like the Beats Fit Pro. You just need a compatible device like an iPhone, an iPad, or an Apple TV. Make sure that your spatial audio setting is turned on, and you're good to go.

Netflix has a new interface on the iPhone — and it’s so much better it’s difficult to know where to start.

The newly updated app, which is available as a free download via the App Store as before, still gives people quick and easy access to the top-notch TV shows, movies, and documentaries available in that huge library. But now the app’s actually fun to use in-between, too.

The new Netflix interface is, dare we say, full of whimsy?

Getting jiggy with it

Perhaps the biggest example of that whimsy is in the way the app flows, bounces, and maybe even jiggles around when it’s interacted with. You can get a good feel for what we’re talking about by watching a video posted to Twitter by Janum Trivedi, a senior software engineer at Netflix when the interface was being designed.

Just watch as Trivedi flicks content away and it bounces around. Magical!

According to the designer, improvements include: 

• New billboard layout responds as you move your device, with a subtle lighting effect
• Beautiful wallpaper gradients that are created on-the-fly from the art
• A new card transition that’s fully interruptible/interactive
• New launch/profile animations, haptics, and more!

Trivedi says that the user interface refresh had been on the go for a while with the aim being to make it “more fluid, delightful, and polished.” We can definitely see how that was the case and we can all probably agree that it was time well spent.

Some of the interactions remind us of the way tvOS app icons can be wiggled using the Apple TV’s remote control, which is pretty ironic considering how poor the Netflix Apple TV app can be at times. Perhaps now we dare cross our fingers that the Apple TV app will get a similar amount of love going forward.

And after that, who knows. Maybe Netflix could make the rest of its apps less miserable to use, too.

The updated Netflix app is probably ready and waiting for you if you have automatic updates enabled. If not, go and grab it now! This might just be the best iPhone experience we’ve seen in a while.

Netflix is making it easier to sign your ex out of your account.

In a blog post, the company announced Netflix Managing Access and Devices, a new feature that lets you control the devices your account is currently logged into. The company points out times when you may log into your account but forget to log out, like hotels and a family or friend's house.

The company said that "with the busy holiday season just around the corner, many of our members will be on the move and watching Netflix wherever they are traveling to see family and friends. Logging in to your account while at a hotel or even your friend’s house is easy and intuitive, but occasionally people forget to log out."

It's time to sign them out. Sign them all out!

As Netflix describes, the feature will allow users to find all of the devices that their account is currently signed into. For any devices that you have logged into and want to sign out of, you'll be able to do it with a click.

The company detailed that "today, we’re launching Managing Access and Devices, a new feature in Account Settings that allows you to easily view recent devices that have streamed from your account and to log out of specific devices with just one click."

Netflix says that Managing Access and Devices is available now for all users around the world. It will be accessible under your account settings on the web as well as the iOS and Android app. While you'll be able to sign another person out, it won't lock them out completely if they still have your username and password.

The news comes shortly after the company launched its Basic with Ads plan, the first ad-supported plan for the streaming service. It also comes before Netflix plans to start charging customers more money for sharing access to their accounts with friends and family. That is still in beta in select countries but will eventually expand globally.

If you want to watch some of the awesome content Netflix offers but want to pay as little as possible, today is the day to sign up. The streamer's new Basic with Ads tier has gone live, which means you can get Netflix for less than before.

The new ad-supported tier went live in Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, but today it added the U.S., U.K, Australia, Japan, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and Korea to the mix. Next week, those in Spain will also be able to save on their subscription.

Money saving

Those who choose the new ad-supported tier will pay $6.99 per month or the local equivalent. But some caveats should be noted. Most notable is that you can't download content to watch offline, but the other limitations include lower quality streaming at just 720p and only one of those streams allowed at any one time. Some content won't be available either, thanks to licensing restrictions.

Other Netflix tiers improve the situation with better quality, more streams, and the option to download TV shows and movies when needed. But Netflix has also confirmed that it's working on the problem of some content not being available on Basic with Ads, so hopefully that'll change in the future.

As for the ads themselves, Netflix has already said that they'll be no longer than 30 seconds long and will play before and during shows and films. But if you're looking to save as much money as possible, that could be a small price to pay, especially if you might otherwise cancel your Netflix subscription altogether.

Looking for a way to get the most out of your Netflix subscription? These are some of the best TVs around today.

Netflix continues to drive forward into a future where EVERYONE PAYS.

As reported by Variety, Netflix has launched Profile Transfer, a new feature that lets existing users on a multi-user account transfer their user profile to a new account. According to the report, a user's personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, and saved games will all transfer to the new account.

On Monday, Netflix is launching Profile Transfer, a feature that lets anyone on an existing account migrate their profile to a brand-new account while preserving all of their personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games and other settings.

Profile Transfer, which Netflix says has been “much requested” by customers, will roll out to all members worldwide starting Monday. Users will be notified by email when Profile Transfer becomes available on their account.

It's time to boot your ex off your account

Netflix says that the feature was designed to accommodate people who may want to transfer their profile to a new account without having to start back from scratch. So, you can safely boot your ex to their own account without them losing their years of watch history.

In announcing the wide availability of the feature, Netflix said it’s intended to accommodate various life events, such as people moving out of a household or relationships ending, without forcing them to rebuild a profile from scratch. But it’s also a way to encourage Netflix viewers who have been mooching off someone else’s account (and aren’t in the same household) to turn legit.

What the feature is really there for is a predecessor for when the company starts charging everyone for sharing their password. The company is testing the price increase in some countries already and plans to roll it out to everyone soon. 

So, if your family and friends have been mooching off your account, get ready to pay extra for them. Or, with Profile Transfer, send them on their way!

Netflix's long-awaiting ad-supported plan is here and...wow, are there a lot of ads.

Today, the company announced that it will soon be launching Basic with Ads, its new ad-supported tier that brings the price of the streaming service down to just $6.99 per month (in the United States). That price sounds great, but you sacrifice a lot by dropping that far down from the $19.99 4K plan.

The company has revealed that the new Basic with Ads plan will be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US. It will officially launch on Thursday, November 3rd at 9:00 AM Pacific Time.

Netflix also confirmed that the introduction of the new plan will not affect the existence of the ad-free Basic, Standard, and Premium plans.

What do you get with Basic with Ads?

The new Basic with Ads tier will still grant customers to most of the Netflix library (we'll get to that in a second), but there are some key sacrifices you are making if you decide to subscribe to that plan.

For one, the Basic with Ads plan will come with, of course, ads. And, according to Netflix, there are going to be a lot of them. The company stated in its press release that the new ad-supported tier will feature an "average" of four to five ads per hour. You might as well be watching network television at that point.

The other disappointing part about the Basic with Ads plan is that Netflix is limiting your streaming quality to a measly 720p. Not 4K. Not even 1080p. 720p. In 2022. That is atrocious.

The company has also revealed that "due to licensing restrictions," customers on this tier will not get access to the full Netflix library. It says it is working to resolve this, but it did not say what content will be missing or for how long.

The last thing you lose with the Basic with Ads plan is the ability to download movies and TV shows to your iPhone and iPad, so don't expect to load up your tablet with movies for your flight if you have this plan.

After looking into the details, the only good thing about this plan is the price. You're sacrificing damn near everything to get Netflix this cheap.

There's lots to cover this week when it comes to the mobile gaming scene. It appears that PlayStation has acquired a mobile game-maker, while Apple unveiled six new Apple Arcade games, and Netflix lined up a future classic. 

We’ve also got the best new games of the week for you to play, including a new battle royale from Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft and Tom Hanks’ new trivia game. That’s right: the Tom Hanks. Let’s get into it, shall we?

PlayStation moves into mobile

Mobile gaming was mostly Uncharted (ha!) territory for PlayStation until this week, when it bought Savage Game Studios for an undisclosed fee. The mobile game-maker has “a new unannounced AAA mobile live service action game” in development, which will now be released through PlayStation Mobile.

So what do we know about Savage? Well, it has studios in Helsinki, Finland, and Berlin, Germany; has been running since 2020, and previously raised over $4 million in funding to make a mobile shooter.

It was suggested in the announcement that Savage could revive an older PlayStation series for mobile, but we’d bet against that for now. We reckon PlayStation bought Savage based on the shooter it has been making for the last few years, plus the very experienced people running the studio. The announcement also suggested that Savage would continue to do its own thing as part of PlayStation, without much interference from its new owner. 

Perhaps after that first mobile game is a success, Savage will get the keys to a dormant PlayStation series. There are plenty to choose from if Savage is going to stick to making shooters: Killzone, Resistance, and SOCOM, for starters.

Apple unveils six new Arcade games for September

It’s a bumper month for Apple Arcade subscribers, with six new games coming to the catalog this month. And five of them are brand new.

For us, the headliner is Shovel Knight Dig, a new platform adventure co-developed by original Shovel Knight maker Yacht Club Games and pixel art masters Nitrome. Both of these studios really know how to make retro-style adventures that feel great to control with touch controls or an iPhone controller. So we’re banking on this one being a winner when it drops on September 23. 

A close second is Horizon Chase 2, a retro racing sequel with lovely ‘90s arcade-inspired looks that’s coming next week, September 9. The first game was a banger, so this one’s sure to be good too. 

On September 30 there’s Gris+, a re-release of the thoughtful, award-winning indie game with stunning art to gawk at. And for more casual players, there’s nature-themed match-3 game Garden Tails on September 16 and farming game Farmside, on September 23. 

And finally — surprise! — out today is Hanx101 Trivia, a quiz game that comes, weirdly, with the endorsement of Tom Hanks. Yes, that Tom Hanks. More on that later.

Netflix waits for new game, Immortality

Out of nowhere, PC and Xbox Game Pass' new release Immortality has been getting absolutely incredible review scores. And if you’ve got a Netflix subscription you won’t have to wait long to play it as part of the streaming service’s growing games catalog.

It’s a detective game in which you scrub and scroll through footage of old films to connect the dots and figure out what might have happened to missing movie starlet Marrisa Marcel. And seriously, folks are talking about this one being a game of the year contender.

While the game is out now on PC and Xbox, unfortunately, developer Half Mermaid has had to take a little more time to bring the game to mobiles and tablets. Netflix originally announced the game was coming in July, then August, and now the latest date is a vaguer “very soon.” The game is also coming to all the best Macs at some point too, which is good news.

iOS games to play this week

Here’s a strange one: Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft has seemingly developed and released a brand new battle royale game, but forgot to tell anyone about it.

It’s called Wild Arena Survivors, and it’s pretty good — a 40-player battle royale set on a tropical island with animals roaming the place, adding to the carnage. It seems loosely inspired by some of the cartoonier parts of the Far Cry games, and has a line-up of characters with different weaponry, strengths, and weaknesses, just like that other battle royale from a major publisher, Apex Legends Mobile. 

The weird thing is, we don’t remember Ubisoft even announcing this game, let alone actively promoting it through their usual — very prominent — PR and marketing channels. Very odd.

Meanwhile, Apple Arcade subscribers can tuck into Hanx101 Trivia from today, the quiz game created with the blessing of that guy from Joe Versus the Volcano, Tom Hanks. He may have been in other films — we’re not sure. 

That's all for now!

Hanx101 Trivia is a perfectly pleasant quiz game for solo trivia lovers or those seeking head-to-head competition, and is very much the stuff Apple Arcade is releasing more and more of these days: Well-designed, family-friendly fare that pretty much anyone can enjoy. 

Until next week!

- Neil Alexander Long

July was a bit of a milestone for streaming services, with new numbers claiming that more people watched TV via such a service than they did by using a traditional cable offering. It's the first time that has been the case.

The numbers come via Nielsen’s monthly Gauge platform rankings, reported on by THR. According to those numbers, almost 35% of people watched their content via a streaming service like Netflix or Apple TV+, while a little over 34% watched using traditional cable platforms.

Netflix is the big dog

THR reports that one of the reasons for a strong showing was Netflix's Stranger Things, a show which managed to pull in an insane number of viewers. "The high mark for July was fueled by Netflix’s Stranger Things — which racked up 18 billion minutes of viewing time for the month — and other big titles, including The Umbrella Academy and The Boys," the report notes. "Streamers gained more than six share points compared to July 2021 (28.3 percent to 34.8 percent), an increase of almost 23 percent."

Nielsen broke down the 34.8% of TV use that went to streamers, with Netflix taking 8% of the pie compared to all other sources of content. YouTube came in second, but there was no place for Apple TV+ — Apple's streaming service instead has to settle for a place in the "all others" category instead.

• Netflix: 8%
• YouTube (including YouTube TV): 7.3%
• Hulu (including Hulu + Live): 3.6%
• Prime Video: 3%
• Disney+: 1.8%
• HBO Max: 1%
• All others: 10.2%

The win for streaming comes as prices are increasing and new ad-free tiers are being added. Both Disney+ and Netflix are looking for new ways to pull in subscribers, while Apple TV+ remains some of the best value around thanks to its low $4.99 per month price and lack of ads.

While Netflix has made a name for itself as a streaming service providing movies and TV shows — including a wide library of original content — the platform has also begun investing in gaming. Because of how relatively recent this is, many people still don't realize they can play games using their Netflix accounts.

If that includes you, don't worry, we're here to help. Here's how to access Netflix games on iPhone and iPad, so you're never left out.

How to access Netflix games on iPhone and iPad

To start, you'll obviously need to make sure you have a current Netflix subscription. From there, things are easy. 

1. Sign in to your Netflix account on your iPhone or iPad.

2. On the home page, scroll down.

3. You'll eventually find a Netflix Games row.

4. Alternatively, you can search "games" in the Netflix search bar.

5. Now that you've found the games, choose one of the available titles to play.

Unfortunately, this does mean you'll need to look around when you want to play the best iPhone games on Netflix with an iOS or iPadOS device. Android devices currently have a dedicated games tab, but that feature hasn't made its way over to the Apple ecosystem just yet. 

In better news, all games on Netflix support touch controls, so you won't need to bother with pairing one of the best controllers or hooking something else up to your device, making this the perfect way to play games on the go or while traveling. 

Note that some games require an internet connection to play, but others can be downloaded to your device and played even if you don't have a clear signal, so you'll want to check the details of what you're playing on a per-game basis.

Naturally, having a bigger screen and higher processing power will help with some games, so anyone with the best iPads available right now will have the best experience possible playing Netflix games.

Right now, Netflix has no plans to introduce another tier specifically for gaming. Instead, games that are added to Netflix will be available as part of a regular membership, with no added fees. Games can also be played at the same time as someone watching something else through your account, though standard profile limitations apply here.

More to come in the future

Netflix doesn't have a huge library of games right now, but that might be changing in the future. The company has steadily invested more and more resources into gaming, acquiring three game development studios as of 2022, including Night School Studio, the developer behind Oxenfree. 

During Summer Game Fest Geeked Week, Netflix revealed that it planned to have over 50 games available as part of its subscription by the end of 2022, including original titles like Before Your Eyes and ports of existing games. The company is currently working on a game based on the Shadow and Bone series, as well as bringing over ports of titles like Into the Breach and Spiritfarer. 

I'm crying. I've been crying.

I just finished Before Your Eyes — Netflix's latest indie game port of a sweet and sad journey through life, death, and memory — and it only took me 90 minutes. I've been blinking as one naturally does, but this time with a video gaming purpose — to control a  narrative with the help of my iPhone's front-facing camera. 

In Before Your Eyes, some blinks are interactions, and others are jump cuts that propel your character's life forward by days, months, or years. And I guess the entire game is a take on every idiom you can think of involving eyeballs, life, speed, and time.

It's a deeply engaging game, and like our previous iOS game of the week, it's also free if you have a Netflix subscription.

Prepare to cry

Before Your Eyes is a narrative game in which you take on the role of the recently deceased Benjamin (Benny) Brynn and help a ferryman deliver you into the afterlife. The only way you can communicate is by blinking, and the only way your soul can rest easy is by helping the ferryman tell your life's story as truthfully as possible, or else you'll become forever stuck in limbo.

Your goal as Benny is to recount your entire existence, uh, before your eyes, literally blinking your way through major life events. Each event is a small vignette into the life Benny lived and the interactions he had between his mother, father, and others. You're essentially playing through someone else's memories and watching it all fade away in a blink of an eye. 

Truthfully, any more synopsis than that and you'll lose some of Before Your Eye's power.

The game is played vertically, interestingly enough. To look around, you touch your iPhone screen as you would the right analog stick of a controller and blink to interact with items and time jumps. Sometimes you'll move your cursor over a picture or a book and blink to trigger a character's dialogue, other times you'll blink to go a little further in time. 

Enter the staring contest

The game's blinking mechanic works in such a clever way that it's more challenging than a typical point-and-click story. Fans of another iOS game, Florence (which is free, by the way), might expect a sort of blissful marriage between gameplay and narrative with Before Your Eyes, but a reflexive action like blinking presents an interesting kink to the game.

Plenty of vignettes in Before Your Eyes ask you to blink to move on from a memory, but sometimes you won't want to. Plenty of times, I've wanted a moment in Benjamin's life to linger just a little longer, only for me to stress about how dry my eyes were getting and blink to see it snap away. I've had some serious staring contests with this game and lost each of them.

And no, you can't cheat and move the phone away from your face. That'll push you forward, too.

An essential one-sitting experience

If you've got your iPhone handy, a nice seat, and 90 minutes to spare on a comfy couch  — a timeframe we all know is easy to kill while doomscrolling on social media — please give this game a shot. Playing Before Your Eyes is akin to cozying up and reading a good book or watching a tremendous film — it's something you'll be thinking about for days on end after it's over. The voice acting, art style, and blink mechanics are all superb, and the writing is top-notch. 

It's also one of the best iPhone games to recommend for someone who doesn't normally play them, doubly so because of the fact that it's free with your Netflix subscription. 

 This week in mobile games, we learned that Diablo Immortal is one of the biggest mobile game launches ever, second only to Pokémon Go.

It looks like there’s also a new Sonic mobile game incoming, there’s a new Star Trek: Lower Decks tie-in to check out and a Netflix game you control by blinking. Yep, blinking.

Plus! Other new games this week include an Octopath Traveler prequel and a tower defense classic new to Apple Arcade. Let’s get into it, shall we?

Diablo does the business

Angry gamers, avert your eyes: Diablo Immortal is one of the biggest mobile game launches ever, second only to Pokémon Go. 

Blizzard’s mobile RPG has been controversial in some quarters for its monetization practices, but that certainly hasn’t meant it has flopped — far from it. It has generated over $100 million from players since it launched in most countries on June 1. And the China launch earlier this week was huge, too. 

It's only been two months since the game launched, so this number makes Diablo Immortal the second fastest game ever to hit that milestone. The first is, of course, Pokémon Go, which took just two weeks to pass $100 million in revenue.

As we’ve discussed here in this column before, Diablo Immortal has attracted some pretty extreme, and we would say unfair, reactions to the way it makes money from players. But that hasn’t stopped it from being a wild success.

Is there a new Sonic game incoming?

Our friends at VGC spotted an interesting job ad at U.K.-based Sega Hardlight this week: An open position for a lead artist on a “new Sonic game” described as an “ambitious narrative driven platform game." Huh!

Now, this comes as no surprise if you’ve been paying attention. Sega Hardlight recently confirmed it was working on a new title based on Sega IP and that it was “a year or so” away from launch. And it has already made a bunch of Sonic Dash games. 

But this one sounds different. Thanks to the story elements, it sounds more like the full-fat Sonic games we’ve seen on console and PC, unlike the infinite runners Hardlight has specialized in previously. Color us intrigued. 

 Forget free-to-play — try blink-to-play 

Culty, blink-to-play game Before Your Eyes got a new lease of life this week thanks to its arrival on Netflix. 

Using your phone’s front-facing camera, you guide the story by blinking and glancing your way through a tale where you help lost souls get through the afterlife. 

Despite winning a BAFTA back when it was released in 2021, it’s still a pretty obscure game, so it’s nice that Netlfix has (presumably) given indie developer GoodbyeWorld Games a decent payday to bring it to the service.

It has put a unique and worthy game quite literally in front of loads of new eyeballs. You can find it in the Netflix app on iPhone and iPad for free if you’re a subscriber.

Star Trek Lower Decks: Hmmm

Animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks is a fun, animated comedy spin-off helmed by Rick and Morty writer and producer Mike McMahan. And the game? Well, it’s…hmmm.

The story bits look the part. They look like they were pulled straight out of the show, with the characters bickering and bumbling through tasks. But the game itself is a pretty typical idle game where you make numbers go up and then upgrade various stations to produce more…stuff, which you put back into upgrades to produce more stuff again. And so on and so on.

Developer Eastside Games has done this before. Its game based on The Office (subtitled Somehow We Manage) took some fun story scenes that feel true to the show and dotted them around a pretty uninspiring idle game. 

So yeah, Star Trek: Lower Decks (and indeed The Office: Somehow We Manage) are perhaps only for series megafans rather than your average game player.

 What else to play this week

Octopath Traveler made a bit of a splash on Switch back in 2018 with its lush “HD 2D” retro JPRG look and eight different lead characters.

New mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is a prequel to that original game, and arrived this week with a stronger focus on combat, collectible characters, and upgrades (which is where the free-to-play stuff comes in).

It looks and sounds great; Square Enix often maintains its sky-high production values for its mobile games because they’re wildly successful in Japan, and its fanbase expects nothing less. It's worth checking out if you can overcome some crazy download times at the start.

Over on Apple Arcade, Kingdom Rush Vengeance TD+ is new this week. It’s a re-release of the tower defense game from Ironhide that’s just as good as all the other excellent tower defense games Ironhide keeps pumping out.

It’s $4.99 on the "real" App Store, so if you’ve already got an Apple Arcade sub anyway, it’s worth a look. 

Until next week!

-Neil Long

I’m economical when it comes to gaming. When I hear about a new video game, I push it back into the deep recesses of my mind and try to dismiss that FOMO, simply so I don’t have to pay full price for a game, or do something drastic like purchase a new system to play one. I’ll either wait for it to go on sale, get old, or in the case of games not accessible to my current devices, get ported.

When Into the Breach debuted in early 2018, buddy, I was upset. “It’s just like Advance Wars,” friends told me, “and you love that game.” Indeed I do. But at the time, Into the Breach was a PC exclusive and I had none. Later that year when it was ported to the Nintendo Switch and MacBook, I waited for a console release. It never came.

But thanks to the totally profitless Netflix, I’m finally able to murder some kaiju strategically and consider war scenarios procedurally, because this mech tactics roguelike is finally on iOS. If you’re a Netflix subscriber, that means that Into the Breach is available to you right now for free. If you’ve played the game before, consider playing it again to scope out all the new Advanced Edition update features, like additional pilot classes and squads, missions, and way more Vek. And if you’re like me and haven’t had a chance to play this incredible title from Subset Games, the developers of FTL: Faster Than Light, you’re in for a real treat.

Blockbuster sci-fi, time-traveling fun

Into the Breach is a turn-based strategy game in which you control a squad of piloted mechs and must kill a slew of giant monsters, called Vek, on an 8x8 grid. Players know where these Vek are attacking in advance, thanks to some time-travel beats in the storyline, and have to strategically plan their every move to defeat these monsters while protecting city buildings full of civilians, and ticking off other objectives as they come. Its lore, feel, and storyline are akin to blockbuster sci-fi movies that toss in elements of Japanese culture, like Pacific Rim, Godzilla, and maybe even Star Wars’ expanded universe.

Every level is a battle against these Vek, and each presents you with a randomized “scenario” that gives you a few additional goals to hit during your warfare. Those scenarios might include defending a train full of civilians, retrieving an alien pod that holds vital information, or challenges like not getting hit more than once during a level. The number of Vek you’re required to defeat is also randomized, as is any loot you may find during a level. This is where that roguelike part comes in.

Like playing chess with mechs and monsters

Earlier I compared this game to Advance Wars, but that’s not quite accurate. Into the Breach is chess, Advance Wars is checkers. Into the Breach is for scholars, Advance Wars is for babies (sorry!). The former game has a strict ruleset that keeps ramping up in interesting ways as the game progresses, and while the same can be said about Advance Wars, Into the Breach doubles down on its brutality with pilot permadeath.

I, admittedly, am still on the training wheels of easy mode while I get the hang of things. I keep making stupid mistakes, like placing my mechs in spots where they’re open to being slammed into a building full of civilians or shooting Vek that will pummel into an ally and cause damage. The game has a “reset turn” time travel option that acts as a mulligan for war and instantly lets me fix my mistake, but you can only use it once per level, and I almost always make the same mistake twice anyway. It’s honestly as fun to lose in this game as it is to win for the sake of figuring out how to best use your mech squad.

Oh, and the soundtrack rips. Ben Prunty, who also worked on FTL, Subnautica: Below Zero, and Celeste, crafted an incredible score that succeeds at building a tense atmosphere built for war. The Advance Edition update adds even more Prunty to the soundtrack, and I’m all for it. Strap in your best true wireless earbuds when you play this, like the AirPods 3. You’ll want them handy.

Free for Netflix subscribers (and password moochers)

If you’re a Netflix subscriber, Into the Breach is free for your Android or iOS device — just download the game and log in with your Netflix account information. This is just one of many Netflix-published upcoming iOS games that are set to release in 2022. 

It's also important to note that even if you've played this title on a different console, it's worth revisiting in the palm of your hand and with touch screen controls — the mobile version is set to become one of the best iPhone games and packs in so much additional content. Plus, dragging and dropping mech soldiers and punching massive bug monsters in the face is a great way to start that morning commute or lunch break at work. I know from experience.

Netflix has finally started testing a way to charge users for sharing a password with friends and family after promising to clamp down on the practice earlier this year. 

A report from Bloomberg this week reveals that Netflix is now asking users in five Latin American countries to pay an extra fee of up to $3 to share their passwords by using their account in an additional home. 

Bloomberg says that from this week customers in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic will be asked if they use an account for more than two weeks outside of their primary residence, with an extra fee if they say yes. That’s $1.70 in Argentina but $.299 everywhere else. 

Netflix says the move won’t affect anyone on vacation or using a mobile device. The clampdown presumably relies somewhat on user honesty, as Netflix is asking customers to give an answer to a question rather than tracking them through any technical parameters. 

The end of password sharing?

It comes after Netflix reported a slump in subscribers earlier this year. The streaming giant says that it believes 100 million households use accounts they aren’t paying for, a huge source of lost revenue for the company. Netflix says it lost 200,000 subscribers last quarter and this week announced it had lost nearly a million subscribers in the most recent quarter.  Despite this shares are up strongly in pre-market trading because the company has reported a return to growth. The loss in subscribers for Q2 was also much milder than expected. 

Chengyi Long, a director of production innovation, said that widespread account sharing between households “undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve our service.” It is thought that password sharing is particularly high in Latin America where the test is being conducted. 

Regarding the overall process, Netflix now asks members to pay an additional fee to add a member to their account complete with their own email address. That extra member will then be able to use Netflix within the usual confines of a subscription, depending on how many devices a user pays for. 

What you need to know

• Netflix has enabled Spatial Audio on all devices, not just Apple hardware.
• Netflix uses Sennheiser AMBEO technology to make it possible.
• Spatial Audio allows for a more immersive surround sound experience without the need for additional speakers.

Netflix has today announced that it has enabled Spatial Audio for everyone, not just those using compatible Apple devices. It's done that via a special partnership that sees it use Sennheiser AMBEO technology to allow Spatial Audio to work no matter the device or speakers that are being used.

The announcement means that everyone can now enjoy 3D positional audio no matter whether they're using an iPhone 13, Apple TV, or cheap streaming stick connected to a non-smart TV — and no additional speakers are required. So long as the content supports Spatial Audio, it'll work. Netflix says that people can search its library specifically for that content, too. Subscribers won't need to have a specific plan, either, because Spatial Audio is available across all of them. We have to presume that will include the upcoming ad-supported tier also.

Apple's own Spatial Audio implementation requires either specific built-in speakers or a pair of headphones, including the excellent AirPods. The Sennheiser AMBEO implementation removes those requirements, giving people the chance to enjoy Spatial Audio where they might otherwise not be able to.

Those looking to learn more about Netflix's Spatial Audio can read a special support page, while those looking to take it for a spin should probably start with something suitably bombastic — Stranger Things might be a good place to start.

If you want to enjoy Netflix and other streaming services in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Stranger Things 4 was watched for 1.15 billion hours according to Netflix.
• The only other show to cross the billion-hour mark was Squid Game.

The fourth season of Stranger Things has proven particularly popular, Netflix says. Who could see that coming?

According to a news release, the hugely popular Netflix show's fourth season was so eagerly awaited that it managed to rack up a massive 1.15 billion hours of viewership during its first 28 days of availability. For comparison, that was almost double the 656 million hours managed by the second season of another fairly popular show — Bridgerton.

Netflix says that Stranger Things 4 was so popular that it also managed to drag earlier seasons along for the ride, with the first three all seeing big streaming numbers.

This comes amid growing competition from the likes of Apple TV+ and Disney+, with popular shows available on both. There's something special about Stranger Things, however, with the show's final season split into two volumes. And some very long episodes likely helped to boost those viewership numbers somewhat, too.

As popular as Stranger Things is, it isn't the first show to reach the billion-hour milestone. That honor went to Squid Game, whose star Hoyeon will soon make her Apple TV+ debut.

If you want to enjoy Stranger Things in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Netflix has confirmed that it is in talks with ad companies as it plans a new ad-supported tier.
• There is no word on how much the new ad-supported offering will cost.
• The cheapest Netflix subscription today costs $9.99 per month.

We're all more familiar with Netflix getting more costly, but for once your subscription could actually see its price get lower — so long as you're willing to watch an ad or four.

We'd already heard rumblings that Netflix was getting ready to introduce a new ad-supported tier, but now the cat is very much out of the bag after Co-Chief Exec Ted Sarandos confirmed the company is speaking with multiple partners in an attempt to get its ad business off the ground.

The WSJ reports that Sarandos made the comments on Thursday, saying that Netflix wants a "pretty easy entry to the market."

Netflix isn't the only streamer considering adding commercial messages to its content. Disney+ is also in the process of getting ads ready to be aligned with its content. Now, Netflix seems keen to make sure that it has as much control over its ads as possible, presumably to ensure those ads fit with the content they're being shown against. "If it becomes so important that we want to have control over it, then we might [build our own ad business]," the exec is reported as saying.

There is currently no concrete information available as to how much the new ad-supported tier will cost, nor whether Netflix will offer 4K streaming and multi-device support on that tier. The cheapest Netflix offering is $9.99 per month right now, but that limits viewers to watching on a single screen at a time, while content isn't even presented in HD, let alone 4K. Those looking for 4K have to double their payment, while HD will cost $15.49 alongside a couple of other improvements to the package.

By contrast, Apple TV+ costs $4.99 per month and that's it. Family Sharing is supported, while 4K HDR is also offered as standard. Apple TV+ does not have ads, either.

The ad-supported subscription comes as Netflix continues to deal with a changing streaming market and one in which it recently lost 200,000 subscribers in a single quarter — news that also triggered layoffs and a number of content projects to be canceled.

If you want to enjoy Netflix and its ads in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Netflix is reportedly ready to lay off more people.
• 150 people were let go in May.
• It's thought an additional 150 could be laid off this week.

Streaming outfit Netflix is reportedly getting ready to lay more people off just weeks after the last round of firings.

May saw the beleaguered Netflix la off around 150 people amid ongoing concern relating to a recent loss of almost a quarter of a million subscribers. The company's share price has also taken a nosedive — it was worth around $600 per share at the turn of the year, while a single share of NFLX will now set you back just $175.

Now, Variety reports that sources believe more layoffs are coming, although it isn't clear which division(s) they will be in.

Those May layoffs were followed by the news that more could be coming, with Netflix working to cull its 11,000-strong global workforce. The streamer has also been cutting content in an effort to save money, with various projects — including a royal one — falling under the knife.

While Netflix is one of the best streaming services on the market, there is no denying that it is also the most costly. While Apple TV+ costs just $4.99 per month, Netflix can cost four times that depending on the tier selected. Other competing offerings including Disney+ are considerably cheaper, with new competition from Paramount+ driving people to make more cutthroat decisions when canceling existing services.

Despite all of that, Netflix still has some of the best content in the business and its library is also likely one of the largest. If you want to enjoy Netflix in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Netflix continues to wrestle with how to charge people for Netflix accounts when they borrow other people's.
• A pilot program allows Peruvians to pay a small fee to add two more people to their account.
• The new program has been met with confusion during testing.

Netflix previously announced plans to prevent people from sharing their passwords with people who aren't in their household and the streamer is already testing that with users in Peru and a handful of other countries. But that pilot program is causing confusion, according to a new report.

As Netflix works to try and make money where it previously wasn't, it's now warning people in Peru that they need to pay extra if they want to continue accessing it. The pilot allows people to pay $2.99 per month and add people to their accounts, even if they don't live with them. It's cheaper than taking out a new subscription and enables them to continue using their profile, too. In a world where the Netflix recommendation system is king, that's no small thing.

However, research carried out by Rest of World shows that people in Peru are being confused by the whole thing, partly because it doesn't seem to be enforced very well according to a TechCrunch report.

Part of the issue seems to be that Netflix itself doesn't know what to do about the program, with customer service agents told to just assume people are being legit when they say they live in the same household but are just traveling.

This is, of course, why Netflix is running the pilot in the first place and we can expect these kinds of issues to be ironed out before the same subscription add-on situation rolls out internationally.

The move, alongside an incoming ad-supported tier, comes at a time when Netflix is losing customers and share price and is keen to ensure that it can make more money from the people who watch content without paying for it.

Netflix is one of the most costly streaming solutions around, one of the reasons people share passwords in the first place. Peruvian customers can add two more people to their account for 7.9 soles (about $2.99) while new standalone accounts cost 24.90 soles (around $6.80) for a basic plan.

If you want to enjoy Netflix in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Netflix show Stranger Things has brought a 1985 song back from the dead.
• Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush features prominently in the new Stranger Things season.
• The song is now sitting pretty at number one on the iTunes chart.

Netflix might be in the middle of a sticky patch thanks to recent subscriber losses, but it still knows how to make a number one. The latest season of Stranger Things is now streaming and the show's decision to use one particular Kate Bush song has seen it jump to the top of the iTunes charts a massive 37 years after it was first released.

The song, Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), plays a huge part in one particular episode of the Netflix show's fourth season and continues to be heard throughout. That, it seems, was enough to propel it to the top of the iTunes charts — beating out Lady Gaga and Harry Styles in the process.

Netflix is currently reeling from a loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter of 2022 and is already planning a new ad-based subscription tier in an effort to deal with the plethora of cheaper streaming alternatives that are eating its lunch. While smash hit shows like Stranger Things do make it a must-have service for many, one show does not a business model make. Even if that show is so popular that it's capable of resurrecting a song from 1985.

As for Stranger Things, the fourth season is now on a mid-season break and will return for its conclusion in July.

If you want to enjoy Stranger Things in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today. Want to listen to that Kate Bush song? It's embedded above and can be streamed via Apple Music and Spotify, of course.

What you need to know

• Netflix had nine of the top 10 most-streamed shows recently.
• Better Call Saul was head and shoulders above the rest.
• Disney+ show Moon Knight was the only non-Netflix entry in the top-10.

Netflix might be losing subscribers but those who are hanging around are watching some of the best content available via streaming, as new numbers shared by Nielson would appear to suggest.

Despite the news that Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers last quarter, those still paying — or sharing their passwords — watched nine of the top 10 shows available from streaming companies towards the end of April, according to Nielson.

Numbers shared by Nielson show that Netflix show Better Call Saul was the number one most-streamed show with 821 million minutes watched for the week of April 18 through April 25. In fact, the only non-Netflix show to feature in the top 10 was Moon Knight from Disney+. No other streamer was present.

This is welcome news for the beleaguered Netflix and joins another Nielson report that says it currently has 6.6% of the streaming market. Streaming as a whole is in the middle of a purple patch — Nielson notes that the share of television viewing afforded to streaming services is now higher than ever.

Netflix isn't short of big shows right now and that could be crucial in not only attracting but retaining customers. An upcoming ad-based tier will also help, although pricing has yet to be confirmed.

If you want to enjoy Netflix and other streaming services, including Apple TV+, in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Nielson says that streaming has a bigger share of the TV market than ever before according to new numbers.
• More than 30% of all TV viewing is done via streaming services.
• Netflix accounted for 6.6% of all streaming.

Streaming services were responsible for a record share of the total television viewing across the United States for the month of April, according to new data.

Numbers shared by Nielson have streaming services accounting for record 30.4% of the total television viewership for the month, a number that beats out the previous 29.7% number. That record was set recently — in March 2022.

Notably, TV viewing as a whole saw a drop in April while the number of people watching via streaming services was unaffected as people settled down to watch Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, and others.

The same report notes that HBO Max achieved a 1.1% share of the streaming market for the first time, moving it out of the "Other Streaming" category for the first time. That's where you'll find Apple TV+, while Netflix is the biggest streamer thanks to its 6.6% share.

Streaming as a whole is a cutthroat business that continues to add major players to the market. Disney+ and Netflix are already working on ad-based tiers to try to keep prices down and compete with the likes of Apple TV+ and its $4.99 per month price point. A price point that is ad-free, it has to be noted.

If you want to enjoy your streaming content in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Netflix has launched a new Mystery Box feature for kids.
• Kids will see a new box appear in their profiles that, when opened, offers new content for viewing.

Netflix knows that kids watch what they like and they tend to watch it over and over again. That's bad for the streaming company because it means kids don't always find new content when they need it — but it hopes a new Mystery Box feature will fix that.

Netflix says that its Mystery Box feature provides a "fun and safe space for kids to discover their next favorite series and films or reconnect with a familiar face." In reality, it inserts a mystery block into their Home screen that, when selected, will display some new content that can be watched.

Netflix doesn't say it explicitly in its press release but you have to imagine that these new recommendations are based on watch history and other pointers to ensure they are relevant. Just how on the money these recommendations turn out to be, we'll have to wait and see.

The new Mystery Box feature is coming to "TVs around the world" starting right now so keep your eyes peeled for the little sparkly box the next time your kid is signed into their profile.

If you want to enjoy Netflix in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Netflix has announced an expansion of accessibility features into more content and languages.
• A new collection of content has been created that includes characters and stories related to disabilities.

Netflix has announced that it is expanding its language availability of Audio Descriptions (AD) and Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) starting this month, although the project will spread into 2023. The announcement comes as part of the streamer's celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

The move was announced via press release and means that more people than ever will be able to watch Netflix content in a way that makes it more accessible to them. Netflix says that Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and French languages are in the works while more content will also be getting support for AD and SDH.

Heather Dowdy, Director of Product Accessibility and a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) herself, made the announcement.

Netflix has also launched a new collection, titled 'Celebrating Disability with Dimension,' that features more than 50 shows and movies with characters and stories involving disabilities.

You can enjoy Netflix and other streaming services in style by checking out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.

What you need to know

• Netflix appears to be losing customers who have been with it for more than three years.
• Last quarter saw Netflix report a 200,000 fall in subscriber numbers.
• The streaming industry as a whole continues to grow as Netflix stumbles.

Recent reports are that Netflix is losing customers faster than it is gaining them, something that saw it lose an aggregate of 200,000 paying customers last quarter. But new research shows that the biggest issue isn't that people are leaving — it's who those people are.

According to numbers shared by research outfit Antenna to The Information, a growing number of the people leaving Netflix have been subscribers for longer than three years. A large portion has been giving the streamer money for between two and three years. And that's a bad sign because these are the people that have proven to be Netflix's core business — and now they're leaving in droves. Could the ever-increasing price be part of the problem?

According to the numbers shared by Antenna, 13% of the people that canceled their Netflix subs in the first quarter of 2022 had been customers for more than three years, while an additional 8% had been customers between two and three years.

As The Information points out, companies like Disney have removed content from Netflix to help bolster their own services, including Disney+. And while the overall streaming market continues to grow, Netflix is seeing its numbers go in the opposite direction.

These are troubling times for Netflix. The recent fall in subscribers comes at a time when the company is laying people off and canceling content. It has also confirmed plans to launch a new ad-supported tier in an attempt to reduce its subscription price, while it's also aware that it needs to prevent people from sharing passwords — something that is directly impacting its ability to make money.

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What you need to know

• Netflix has canned a slew of animated projects but says it isn't about saving money.
• Subscriber numbers fell by 200,000 last quarter and the company is laying off 150 people.
• Netflix recently canceled an animated project created by Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.

Netflix has reportedly canceled a number of animated projects including Wings of Fire, Antiracist Baby, and With Kind Regards From Kindergarten.

The news comes just weeks after Netflix also canceled another animated series that was created by Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. Pearl was canceled earlier this month.

Now, Variety reports that more content has been slashed from the Netflix calendar, including a sequel to a documentary that is still set to go ahead.

While Netflix continues to deal with the news that it lost 200,000 subscribers last quarter, sources tell Variety that this latest round of cancelations isn't related to that — but rather a decision based on creative requirements. Whether that is accurate, however, we don't know — the company is clearly trying to save money and has already fired 150 people as part of that plan.

Netflix is currently struggling to deal with increased competition from the likes of Disney+ and Apple TV+, both of which are cheaper. Netflix — and Disney+, for that matter — plans to launch a cheaper ad-supported tier, while plans to prevent people from sharing accounts are also in the works. Whether that will turn people into additional subscribers or not, however, still remains to be seen.

What you need to know

• Netflix is giving some people early access to content so they can make edits based on feedback.
• Those on the early access program have to watch content and then complete a survey to provide feedback.

Netflix is giving some people access to its original content months before launch, according to a report. The program, which is available to a limited number of customers in the United States, requires that viewers give the streamer feedback on shows before their big release to the wider subscriber base.

The program, which Netflix has now confirmed to Variety, sees customers given access to original movies and TV shows ahead of release and has been running since May 2021.

Netflix then takes the feedback given by viewers and then uses it to make edits to content before it is released publicly. Predictably, those who sign up for the early access must agree not to share information about the program and are required to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Testing content before its release is likely to help Netflix in its larger aim to attract and then keep subscribers, a need that its recent 200,000-subscriber loss has brought into sharp relief. It's also thought that other streaming companies run similar programs to have their own original content seen by new eyes before wider availability.

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What you need to know

• Netflix has fired around 150 people in an attempt to reduce expenses.
• A shortfall of 200,000 subscribers was seen in the last quarter.
• Competition from Disney+, Apple TV+, and other streamers has hit Netflix hard of late .

Netflix has reportedly fired around 150 employees, most of them based in the United States, as it works to reduce operational costs.

The mass firings equate to around 2% of the streamer's workforce, according to a Variety report, and comes after revelations that it has been losing subscribers. Netflix saw its subscriber count fall by 200,000 people during the last quarter, causing share prices to fall.

Netflix, once the darling of media, has found itself in a sticky spot of late. Hot competition from the likes of Disney+ and Apple TV+ hasn't helped, while an ever-increasing price has seen customers cull the service in an attempt to save money. The company is readying a cheaper, ad-supported tier in an attempt to pull people back in. Disney+ is also making moves to do something similar, too.

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What you need to know

• Netflix is reportedly working on live streaming capabilities for upcoming content.
• The live component would allow viewers to vote on the outcome of unscripted shows.
• Disney+ and Apple TV+ have already made moves into the live TV world.

Netflix is reportedly making plans to offer some of its upcoming unscripted content live for the first time, opening the door to online competitions and live voting.

Deadline reports that the plan could see the upcoming dance competition series Dance 100 and other similar unscripted shows be streamed live on the Netflix platform. That would allow for new interactive options including giving viewers the chance to vote — something that has previously been limited to traditional television platforms like cable and satellite channels.

The report also suggests that the live-streamed content could include 'Netflix is a Joke,' a festival of comedy that could be streamed rather than recorded moving forward.

Netflix reportedly confirmed that live streaming is "in the early stages of development," but there is no doubt that the move could make for some interesting possibilities. Disney+ is already making moves in a similar direction with ABC's American Idol and Dancing with the Stars in the process of switching to the streamer.

Apple TV+ has already made its live debut, of course. Streaming live sport via Friday Night Baseball is potentially just the beginning for Apple TV+, with the service also thought to be keen on an NFL package as well.

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What you need to know

• Disney+ has announced a growth of almost 8 million subscribers for the previous quarter.
• Netflix recently reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers last quarter.
• Disney+ now has 138 million subscribers in total.

Streaming service Disney+ managed to add a massive 7.9 million subscribers to its platform last quarter, beating Wall Street expectations of as low as 4.5 million.

At a time when Netflix is still struggling with the news that it lost 200,000 subscribers last quarter, Disney+ is showing everyone how it's supposed to be done. THR reports that the streamer how has almost 138 million subscribers. When you factor in other streaming services including Hulu and ESPN+, Disney proper can boast more than 205 million subscribers in total as noted by CNBC.

However, Disney+ CFO Christine McCarthy seems keen to set expectations, warning people that such growth is unlikely to be repeatable forever.

This is yet more bad news for Netflix. It faces ever-growing competition from not only Disney+ but Apple TV+ and more. Netflix's increasing price surely isn't helping, although plans for an ad-supported tier may help.

While Disney+ is indeed cheaper than Netflix, bargains like Apple TV+ make it seem even more costly. Priced at just $4.99 per month and available as part of the Apple One bundle, Apple's streaming service is surely the best value out of all of the competition right now.

What you need to know

• Netflix is going to start cracking down on password sharing this year.
• Executives are aiming to introduce lower-price tiers with adverts in the last three months of 2022.
• A ban on sharing your password is set to take effect around the same time.

Netflix is aiming to introduce adverts to its platform and ban password sharing by the end of the year, according to the new report.

The NYT reports:

As the report notes that is a more accelerated timeline than previously indicated. Netflix is in some bother after announcing last quarter that it lost subscribers for the first time in more than 10 years, with more expected in the next quarter.

As a result, Netflix shares plummeted, with the company announcing some drastic plans to fix its financial woes. Alongside canceling a swathe of content, Netflix is going to introduce cheaper pricing tiers that will be supplemented by adverts for users who don't mind sitting through commercials while paying a bit less.

The other measure is a ban on password sharing. Netflix estimates that it has around 100 million users who are sharing a password with another paying household, essentially getting a free ride for the service. Netflix has reiterated that users are not meant to share their passwords with anyone outside of their household and plans to try and put a stop to the practice in the next few months.

The platform is one of the best iPhone apps for streaming original content on devices like the iPhone 13, iPad, and MacBook. While more ways to pay for the service and cheaper options might be a welcome advent for some, its password-sharing policy is bound to prove unpopular with users.

What you need to know

• Netflix is being sued over recent subscriber losses and falling share prices.
• A recent earnings call confirmed a 200,000-subscriber loss.
• Share prices fell 35% following the news of the reduction in subscriber numbers.

A Netflix shareholder is suing the company for claimed securities law violations relating to the streamer's falling subscriber count and the subsequent drop in share price.

A suit was filed U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California by Imperium Irrevocable Trust with the aim being to seek class action status. Anyone who owned Netflix shares between October 19, 2021, and April 19, 2022 can get involved, writes Deadline. Co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos and CFO Spencer Neuman are named as defendants.

The issue stems from recent confirmation that Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers at a time where it has historically added to that number. The streamer has since been cutting shows in an attempt to reduce costs, but the damage has already been done to the share price. The new lawsuit alleges that Netflix didn't tell its shareholders how bad the situation was soon enough. The loss of 200,000 subscribers caused a 35% reduction in share price the next day, causing people to lose a ton of money in the process.

As Deadline points out however, these kinds of lawsuits do need to meet a high bar in order to proceed. But even if this one gets struck down early on, it's another problem that beleaguered Netflix bosses could very much do without. The company is already working to try to claw back as much money as it can — it's aware that a worryingly high percentage of people share passwords with family members, meaning they don't need to pay for a subscription of their own.