Hulu is changing up its app user interface to offer a simpler look and navigation to both basic Hulu and Hulu Live TV subscribers. However, the updated UI is not rolling out to all devices at the same time.
Hulu is a rich video experience with access to a wide selection of content. This is even more true for those who subscribe to Hulu Live TV as they not only get access to the included live TV channels, and on-demand network content, but also the varied back catalog included with the basic subscription. All of which amounts to a lot of content under one live TV subscription.
The downside with this is that it is not always so easy to find content and navigate the catalog, especially as Hulu also utilized a complicated user interface. However, in an announcement today, Hulu confirmed it is changing the design with the intention of making sure the Hulu app experience is as easy to navigate as Disney+ or ESPN+.
How the Hulu app experience is changing
What is arguably going to be one of the main differences compared to before, is the reduction in the main navigation menu. Right now, the Hulu apps come with a lot of primary categories, requiring the user to horizontally scroll or tap numerous times to get through the first screen. Then there’s the issue of having to vertically scroll to contend with. Hulu is now simplifying both of these aspects by reducing the menu down to primary categories, such as movies, sports, and TV.
Hulu will deal with the vertical aspect by utilizing a tile-based format where tiles will be differently-sized to emphasize importance. As Hulu explains it:
New shows or movies we know you won’t want to miss will be larger in size. “Keep Watching” tiles however may be smaller, so viewers can see more of their titles at a glance and quickly return to their favorite shows with less clicks.
Hulu
Speaking of personalization, Hulu also says it has made backend changes which will look to ensure a greater degree of accuracy when the interface displays shows the viewer is expected to be interested in. These changes will reflect improvements to both the human and algorithm side of the recommendations system.
In terms of the rollout, Hulu has suggested that the new look and feel interface will come to all the platform apps that are currently compatible with the service’s modern Hulu app. However, the rollout will first begin with the Roku and tvOS platforms, starting today. Other platforms and devices are expected to see the new Hulu UI arrive “over the next few months.”
Source: Hulu
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