Netflix launched a new version of its beta build in the Google Play Store on Monday, which reportedly included some new features such as the highly buzzed-about mobile data saver mode. However, this release happened to just be an accident, with the company revealing that the program was not intended to be offered for consumers.
The program has since been pulled.
The release of the build was first reported by Android Police, which revealed it featured the data saver feature to which everyone is looking forward. First announced back at MWC 2016, the data saver mode would benefit customers with limited data plans since streaming an episode or movie could cause overages on their monthly bill. The feature would instead limit bitrate and lower the bandwidth available to have video content stream at a lower quality at less than full HD 1080p.
However, Netflix previously said that the data saver mode wouldn't be released for its iOS and Android apps until later this year.
The accidental beta program release also brought with it support for Google Play billing. This leads many to believe that app subscriptions are coming soon, although it's not yet known what the exact prices would be. It's important to remember that Google takes a 30 percent cut from these transactions, Android Police informs.
Even still, it appears that neither of these features were meant for beta testers. Netflix confirmed that the beta program was not supposed to be released, and that none of the features included guarantee that we will see them in the future.
Those users who did see the mobile data saver as part of the program (the feature popped up in the top right corner of videos during playback mode) only did so as part of a bucket test. This means that a larger release of the feature may be coming soon.
Netflix has since pulled the beta program; however, those who downloaded it will now receive a message saying that the company is no longer accepting users for testing.
Source: Tech Crunch
Photo: Esther Vargas | Flickr
