Plex mobile app gets a major overhaul: new design, missing features

Plex has released a redesigned mobile app for Android, iPhone, and iPad. This update boasts a significant visual refresh and a new codebase, but some features have been removed or are still under development.

Plex announced last year its plan to completely rewrite its mobile and TV apps, aiming for a more modern and intuitive interface and a unified codebase across all platforms. This is a crucial step given Plex's availability on numerous devices. To streamline development, music playback and media backup have been moved to the dedicated Plexamp and Plex Photos apps, respectively.

New Features:

The redesign draws inspiration from modern streaming services and review platforms like IMDB. The navigation bar now features Home, Library, Live TV, On-Demand, and Discover tabs. The "Discover" tab emphasizes social features, allowing users to see what their Plex friends are watching and reviewing.

Plex highlights improvements in navigation, a dedicated library tab, enhanced artwork integration, and various features designed to improve connection, viewing, and sharing. Since its preview release last year, the app has seen considerable improvements, including faster load times, improved scrolling, restored Live TV tuner and Cast support, new shuffle options, the return of OpenSubtitles subtitle search, and other enhancements.

Missing Features:

As with many app redesigns, some features are not yet available in this initial release. Plex states that features like vertical episode lists, quick library access on the home screen, season downloads, expanded casting support, DVR scheduling, OTA TV casting, and Watch History editing are "coming soon." Further improvements are planned for download storage, offline media access, and navigation.

Related: Plex Pass Lifetime Memberships Increase in Price

Plex will raise prices for its monthly, annual, and lifetime memberships on April 29th. Free accounts will lose remote access (affecting server owners, not viewers).

Some features are permanently removed. Photo and music management is now solely within Plexamp and Plex Photos. Sharing individual media items is no longer possible, though library sharing remains. Manual server IP address entry has also been discontinued. Plex for Android no longer supports playback with external apps like VLC. iOS app icon customization is also temporarily unavailable.

The Plex team assures users that ongoing improvements are underway, and they are actively addressing user feedback.

Availability:

The updated app is rolling out gradually to Android and iOS users. If you haven't received the update, it should arrive shortly.

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