Netflix seems to add audio-only playback mode to Android app
It appears Netflix is in the process of adding an audio-only playback mode to its Android app. Android Police reports this. The feature was previously noticed during a teardown of the app.
According to Android Police, it appears that Netflix is in the process of introducing a playback mode that only plays audio in the background. The website shows that it is possible to switch off the video part via a button while watching content on Netflix. The interface remains the same, but only the audio of the video can be heard; the image is otherwise black. It also appears that a new audio only option has been added to the settings, where users can choose ‘always on’, ‘headphones or external speakers’, or ‘off’.
XDA Developers already reported about this feature at the end of October, which then appeared after a closer look at Netflix version 7.79.1, although it was not yet working at the time. The idea of such an option to not listen to the video images but only the accompanying audio is likely to save data, for example, if someone uses mobile internet. Also, only audio could work a little better with certain genres.
Currently, this innovation has already become available to probably a small group of users. It’s not entirely clear if and when this audio-only mode will be available to all users in the near future.
Images: Android Police