Amazon today unveiled the next generation of the Amazon Prime Video app. The update has been a long time coming both from a user experience standpoint, as well as from Amazon’s end.
I got a sneak peek at the new Prime Video app at an event at Amazon MGM Studios in Culver City, California, in June. (We were there on Amazon’s dime.) And probably the most remarkable thing about the update is that it mostly feels unremarkable, even across platforms. But it also is noticeably improved, with a number of little design flourishes that weren’t there before.
Amazon has updated the look and feel to more modern standards, but the app still has that Prime Video flair. There’s no mistaking that it’s Amazon. But it’s also plenty fluid and smooth through the menus. Images are large and crisp, and there’s enough information where you want it, but not so much that you’re overwhelmed.
“We’re always listening to customers and reviewing feedback, and it’s clear that many are in search of a more intuitive streaming experience,” Kam Keshmiri, vice president of design at Prime Video, wrote in a blog post announcing the update. “With the improvements we have made to the user experience, customers will be presented with an easy-to-navigate entertainment destination where they can discover new titles and enjoy favorites, as well as sign-up or switch add-on subscriptions with just a few clicks. Best of all, they can do this while using a single login.”
The main app navigation has been moved to the top, where’ you’ll now find”Home,” “Movies,” “TV Shows,” “Sports,” and “Live TV.” And that’ll include all the live sports on Prime Video. Any active subscriptions you have via Prime Video — like Max, Paramount+, or any of the countless others — will find a home up there, too. And you’ll also be able to subscribe to new services (and manage existing subscriptions) via the app.
And, of course, you can’t have any sort of update in 2024 without using the initials “AI.” The new Prime Video app leverages all the recommendation improvements Amazon has been touting over the past year.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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