Plex is rolling out a new version of its mobile app, and it's a fairly major redesign that features expanded artwork, streamlined navigation, and a dedicated tab for centralized media libraries designed for "personal media pros."
Plex said in a forum post that the updated app is being fully deployed over the course of the week, and introduces several key improvements based on user feedback received during its preview testing phase. If you installed the beta version of the app, which was made available via TestFlight in November, then you'll know what to expect.
Among the changes, users will notice new title artwork for movies and shows, a dedicated spot for the Watchlist feature in the top navigation, and a simplified user menu. Performance enhancements include improved load times, better scrolling performance, and added support for portrait mode, according to Plex.
For those who use Plex to manage personal media collections, the update adds TV show shuffle options, improved library reordering, and enhanced access to item context menus via a long press.
Several other changes have been made that Plex wants existing users to be made aware of. The company says pre-existing downloads will lack some metadata after updating, which can be fixed by re-downloading content. The new version also removes music and photo functionality from the main app, as Plex has developed dedicated companion apps – Plexamp and Plex Photos – for these media types.
The mobile update arrives just weeks before Plex implements its previously announced subscription price changes. Starting April 29, the company will increase the cost of its Plex Pass to $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually, up from $4.99 and $39.99 respectively, marking its first price hike in a decade.
Plex also noted that a new app for TV platforms, including Apple TV, will follow the mobile update "soon," continuing the company's refresh of its entire app ecosystem. The redesigned app is still in beta, but it is already available for testing on the Apple TV.
Top Rated Comments
I updated my iPad just now and I basically use Plex just for my personal media library. Period. Movies and TV Shows. I see the normal stuff when I launch it -- "Continue Watching", "Recently released...", etc., with Live TV recommendations after that.
I tap "Browse" at the top and I can browse my Movies library and my TV Shows library.
As far as "a lot of basic functionality has been removed", you listed one thing. Care to expand on that because, to be honest, the basic functionality I use is there and works just fine.
EDIT: With regards to offline syncing (Downloads)...it seems to work fine for me.
What does annoy me, is that with every release, the actual media player seems to get worse. Multiple times, I get weird errors from Plex about files that it complains it cannot play, inevitably, said file will always play perfectly well in VLC, from the same source (my local NAS).