In November, Netflix made a lot of people very happy, as it introduced the ability to download its movies and TV shows for offline viewing. Until then, Netflix had relied exclusively on streaming - but that presented obvious limitations for users when travelling in areas with limited internet access, or for those relying on connections with limited data plans.
Despite being able to download content, users were still limited by the amount of onboard storage on their devices. Today, Netflix is solving that problem by allowing owners of its Android devices to store downloaded content on SD cards (or, more likely, microSD cards).
Given that microSD cards are relatively inexpensive - you can pick up a 128GB card for around 40 bucks - that new feature will give users a great deal more freedom when loading their devices with new shows and movies to watch on the go.
However, there are still some limitations to be aware of. The Google Play store listing for the Netflix app says that "this feature is not available on all devices" - although it's not yet clear if that simply refers to devices without microSD card slots, or if some devices with storage card slots remain unsupported.
Additionally, you can't store downloaded content indefinitely. The exact amount of time for which you can store a show or movie will vary between titles; Netflix's support site points out that "some titles will expire 48 hours after you first press play."
Netflix hasn't yet announced plans to make its SD card storage support available to Windows phones, but we've reached out for comment. iOS devices will obviously be unable to take advantage of this feature as they do not have storage card slots.
Source: @netflix
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