Netflix is currently testing a special audio-only mode for its mobile apps, specifically Android. Wbut this is no guarantee that such a useful feature will see the light of day in a stable version, it is promising, toand if you’re lucky, you can try the feature right now.
I understand that they make fun of the idea of “listening” to a movie instead of watching it, believe me. I would have had the same reaction too, but we used to do it all my early days as a technology editor. A lot of Maximum PC employees spent the day in the lab performing all sorts of benchmark tests, building (and breaking) various components and packing and unpacking unlimited shipping boxes. We’d put on movies to pass the time, but it’s not like we could watch them and download them. We had shit to do.
Have you missed anything with an audio-only experience? Viously, of course, but if it’s a movie you already know a lot, lose the visual content or just check them out from time to time or watch your favorite scenes. such a great thing. I can see the same thing that is true if you are traveling by road and i want to have something more exciting than listening to that radio (or your favorite podcasts). Why not put your favorite movie? I sonce you don’t stream video, you should use much less than your precious mobile data limit (theoretically).
To see if it’s suitable for Netflix audio-only testing, you’ll need to make sure you are using at least version 7.84.1 (version 28 35243) of the Android app. This is easy to check in the Google Play Store; just tap “About this app” and scroll down until you see the version number in the app information.
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If you can, try signing up for the Netflix beta at the bottom of the app list. It was full when I checked it out, but if you can access it, it will only increase your chances of being selected to try out these limited release features.
A word about it: Because Netflix audio-only mode is a server unlock, you may not see it in your application even if you have the most up-to-date version you can get. If you’re eligible, you’ll know very quickly once you’ve pulled out anything to watch on Netflix. At the top of the view, just above the pause button, you will see an option to turn the video on and off.
I don’t have that option, so I have the normal screen shown at the top. (Also, blame Netflix for not allowing screenshots of your content.)
If you can access the feature — thankfully — you’ll also find a new option on the Netflix Settings screen. Under the modified Video and audio playback in the app settings, you can choose when Netflix should switch to audio-only mode by default: always, never, or whenever it detects that you’re using external headphones or speakers.
We don’t know when Netflix will release this feature to everyone, if it ever will, but we’ll let you know if that changes. However, I can’t wait to see the feature, as I can’t wait to enjoy movies without wasting precious data on those moments when I can’t stare at the screen for hours.