Plex has announced the availability of its revamped application in beta for Apple TV users, and says it will expand to more TV platforms later. It was previously launched in November, but only for Android smartphones.
The redesigned app pushes the service further into the territory of movie rentals and ad-supported content, making it more similar to something like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. It means that the service is moving further away from its origins as an app that lets you create what is essentially your own streaming service, where you can store your own media, such as movies, TV shows and music, on a local network and push it to any device.
Notably, the update makes rental movies available to users in the U.S. and in Canada, and they will expand to more countries later, the company said.
There is also a refreshed user interface, which has a completely new look, and there are some interesting new community-focused features. For instance, users can make their Plex profile visible to others, so their friends can see what they’re watching, and they also gain the ability to write reviews for TV shows and movies, and read the reviews written by other users.
Although Plex is becoming more like its streaming rivals, users can still use the app in the traditional way by uploading their own content to the platform, enabling them to watch it on any device from any location.
The beta version of the refreshed app is available for Apple TV users via this link, but the company warned that it lacks a lot of features that are planned for the final release. For instance, the ability to create playlists is missing, as is content casting, live TV (over-the-air), DVR scheduling, library management and advanced video playback controls, such as speed adjustment.
In other words, it’s basically just the new UI and content that is available now, so users will be able to get a look at the new app while waiting for its more advanced functionality to arrive.
No doubt that is the reason for the limited beta it’s running now. Plex said the app will eventually come to other TV platforms, including Google TV, Tizen, webOS, Roku and Fire TV, but it hasn’t said when that will happen.
The company said in a statement that it’s “thrilled” to start testing its new app experience on Apple TV users.
“Please keep in mind that this is nowhere close to perfect, but we want to get feedback from the community as early as we can,” the company explained. “The app will get better over time.”
