The Walt Disney Company’s Disney+ adds a ‘continue watching’ feature to the streaming service’s user interface across all platforms, from the mobile app to desktop. Disney+ officially launched two weeks ago and despite issues on the first day, including an inability to login for some users and other load problems, the Mouse House’s latest venture appears to be a success. Lucasfilm’s first live-action Star Wars TV show, The Mandalorian, is incredibly popular - and exclusive to Disney+. That’s not to mention all the other exclusive content Disney+ is planning, like live-action and animated Marvel Cinematic Universe series, as well as original movies and TV shows from other properties. With Disney+ garnering 10 million subscribers in the first day, the service is a hit.
However, as subscribers have been using Disney+ since it launched on Nov. 12, they’ve noticed certain features are missing. Other streaming services offer a continue watching option that allows users to pick up where they left off in movies or TV shows they previously viewed on their account. Last week, it was reported that Disney+ was working on a continue watching feature and now, two weeks after launch, Disney has implemented this feature.
Across all platforms, Disney+ users will now have a “Continue Watching” row that appears directly below the “Originals” row, with all TV and movies the users have recently viewed but not completed watching. As reported by Variety, the update is being applied to the streaming service’s server, so it doesn’t require any app updates. It should simply begin appearing in Disney+ no matter where you’re watching, on the mobile app, desktop or connected TV. See screenshots of the continue watching feature above and below.
Previously, the only way to continue watching a movie or TV show on Disney+ was to add it to your Watchlist then navigate to that screen and select the video again. It would pick up where you’d left off, but finding the show or film was less convenient than in other streaming services, which typically have a “continue watching” option easily accessible on the home screen. Now, Disney+ has undoubtedly improved its interface with this one new addition, making it much easier for users to pick up and continue watching The Mandalorian, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and all other original and legacy Disney content.
While there are still other fixes folks would like to see put into place for Disney+ to become even more user-friendly, the continue watching feature addition is a major step in the right direction. Certainly, as the streaming service grows and the developers continue to add new features and fix any bugs, Disney+ will deliver a better user experience. All this will help Disney+ to stay afloat and perhaps rise above its streaming competitors. With the streaming industry getting an influx of so many services this year and in 2020, it remains to be seen where Disney+ will inevitably land, but every little bit helps.
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Source: Disney+, Variety
