Netflix experiments with pop-out feature

Photo: Engadget

Netflix is testing a pop-out player feature on desktop.

As reported by Engadget, some users have started to see a new icon in the video player UI. Clicking that button will allow the user to watch the video in a small box that hovers ahead of other applications.

The window is resizable, but certain features – such as subtitles – are not yet available in this format.

Netflix carries out hundreds of tests each year which tweak the user experience, and most features are not included on a permanent basis.

One test feature that drew the ire of many users was something Netflix called ‘surfacing recommendations’. These were skippable ads for other shows and movies that appear on the streamer, played at the end of whatever the user was watching. The feature has not resurfaced as a permanent feature of Netflix.

Another feature Netflix tested was a shuffle option for popular shows, where the service would pick a random episode to watch from a series.

In response to reports, Netflix simply sent journalists an image of a test card with the caption “This is only a test”.