Netflix started giving users the ability to download their favorite shows to their devices back in 2016 so that episodes could be watched even without an internet connection, a feature which had been highly requested up until that point. Today, the streaming service is improving upon this capability by introducing smart downloads.
With this "smart" new functionality, the Netflix app will start downloading the next episode for a show as soon as you finish watching the previous one. The company has thought of mobile data plans, and so the app won't download new content unless the device is connected to Wi-Fi. Episodes you've finished watching will be deleted too, so you don't have to worry about managing your storage either.
Of course, this isn't always desirable, so it's possible to turn off smart downloads and manage your offline content yourself. Nonetheless, the newly added functionality should make for a more straightforward experience for many users who don't want to go through the trouble of managing and downloading episodes manually.
Netflix hasn't been receiving the best kind of attention lately, but it's nice to see the company still trying to improve upon its offering. Smart downloads are available exclusively for Android users for now, but it's only natural that they will make their way to iOS devices in the near future.
Source: Netflix via VentureBeat
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