Beta: iPhone Duo, Heroes, configurable sections, and more!

Beta Community Apple Beta
#1

We're rolling out a new beta to TestFlight today that changes a LOT of stuff in the app. Most notably, this includes iPhone Duo support.

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Here's the short list of what's in this one:

  • NEW: iPhone Duo support
  • NEW: Tabs are back for iOS and iPadOS
  • NEW: Locally configure your navigation items including their order
  • NEW: Configurable Heroes at the top of Home, Movies, and TV Shows
  • NEW: Locally configure which sections show in Movies, TV Shows, and Home, including their order.
  • IMPROVED: Massive resizability improvements
  • IMPROVED: Mobile video player UI refresh
  • IMPROVED: Pinch to zoom video player on mobile to fill the screen
  • IMPROVED: MANY more app and layout refinements

iPhone Duo

iPhone Duo leans HEAVILY on apps' ability to resize well. This is something that Channels did not do well previously. A lot of internal changes happened to the layout to get resizing working well, but this not only means it works well on iPhone Duo, but on iPad as well if you use Split View or Multitasking.

This effects the entire app on all platforms including tvOS, so please keep an eye out for it.

Heroes

We've added something we said we never would. Heroes. But, let's face it, the iOS design language REALLY likes heroes, so we added them. They're available on Home, Movies, and TV Shows.

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But we did it the Channels way. We made them totally customizable, and with the ability to disable them. You can adjust this in Settings locally in the app.

You can choose many types of content to show in your heroes including recently added, recently released, random, etc.

You can even choose a Movie for TV Show collection to drive them. So get those holiday highlights up there!

Tabs are Back on iOS

A few years ago we moved iOS and iPadOS to using the sidebar navigation that's found in the tvOS app, in order to allow you more freedom with managing the sidebar items along with adding Personal Sections.

While this did accommodate that, it never felt quite right, especially on iPhone.

So now, Tabs are back and they're completely configurable. They're populated the same way the Sidebar items are, so your current customizations will just load into your sidebar.

But we also leveled up the local configuration allowing you to not only pick what shows in your navigation, but their order. All from the app without Server Side Settings. This also works on tvOS for the sidebar.

Configure your Library Sections

Along with the ability to configure your Heroes for each section, you can now configure what the sections show themselves now, along with their order.

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If you don't want Home to have Recently Added Movies and would rather it shows New Releases, go for it. If you want Recently Watched Shows at the top in TV Shows, drag it up there. Configure and design them any way you want.

Mobile Video Player Refresh

We've slightly updated the video player on mobile to have a more modern aesthetic, something we've needed to do for a while.

Along with this, we've added the ability to pinch to zoom to have your video fill the entire screen of your device.

This is a sort of interim design refresh as we hope to do much more in the future.

Your Help

We hope you like some of these changes. Please feel free to use this thread to give feedback on the changes and any bugs you find. This helps a ton before shipping it off to the store.

Thanks!

4 Likes
Please provide iPhone Duo support
Spacing issue, videos
#2
#3

I would love to try the beta. We also have some duos arriving shortly and would like to try it there as well. Please let me know how I can become a test flight participant. Thanks.

#4
#5

Thank you.

Channels with Fast, AH4C with multiple tuners, PrismCast and HD HomeRun is unbelievably good. Not missing TVE in the least, and very VERY thankful to all of the developers who have made this combination run so well.

I was quite concerned that, after years of using Channels, we would have to switch to provider-based apps....so glad we can stay with Channels!

-Scott

#6

Hello, don't have a Duo but I'm sure those who do will appreciate the update!

I noticed that if you click an item from the Hero, you can't swipe left or down to close it. However, you can if you select the same entry from the "Recently Added Movies" row. On the latter, sometimes swiping down scrolls down the logo and text but other times it will dismiss the Detail page. Swiping left to close out of the Detail page is randomly "sticky" as well and won't perform the action reliably. This is mostly for swipe lefts that are done in the "middle" of the Detail page...swiping from the edge works most reliably (except when entering from a Hero item which still doesn't work).

Up Next, Recently Updated Shows, and Recently Added Movies show up as a "modal card" on the non-beta app and can only be swiped down (which is fine). On the beta, Up Next is still a "modal card" (with an X and partially covering the screen) but both Recently... sections are now a whole screen cover with a back button. I imagine this is for your resizing capability - just wanted to note the difference and the navigation stuff.

iPhone 18 Pro; iOS 27.0.1

#7

@Maddox thanks for the update. can you add a volume slider to the new interface? thanks.

#8

Swiping left wasn't enabled when showing the content view from the hero, as it's a fade transition, and going backwards like that was awkward. But you're right, swiping back is the norm. I'll look into seeing if I can make this better.

Yes, the iOS app has unified and moved to using full push navigation for all views instead of everything being modal. Some views, like Episodes will stay modal though as they are on tvOS and everywhere else.

#9

I really like that clicking from Hero doesn’t redraw the whole page or fade out/in the same image. It’s very fluid.

Edit: If I may, I’d like the Home hero section be able to have a combined Movie/Show option as well. And also to be able to see any Collections there.

#10

Agreed

1 Like
#11

I’m not seeing the tab or sidebar menu in split view.

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#12

Odd. Check Manage Navigation under Settings

#13

On my Apple TV there is a spacing/UI Alignment issue with videos, on the screen that comes up before you play.
App. beta 11.6.1811

My guess, long file name/title, has something to do with causing the UI issue

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EDIT: Issue is worse than I thought. Many of my Library of Music Videos and other Random vides, UI un-usable.

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#14

I can see the tab menu in folded/unfolded mode, but not when I go to multi-task Split View mode.

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#15

Kids Section is missing the “Manage Section” option, or is that intended? It would be nice to have the customization because I’ve always wondered why the top row was Recently Watched (finished content). Thanks

#16

We’ll get it added.

It’s because kids rewatch the heck out of movies lol.

#17

Ahh excellent. Thanks. I’ll check it out.

It also appears the presentation in your screenshot doesn’t match your server side settings. Thanks for the feedback.

#18

It looks like it works on the right but not the left. But if you start it on the right with another app, and move it to the left, it works. It almost feels like an iOS bug.

There’s not much we have control over this. It’s just the tab bar and the system handles it. But we’ll look into it.

#19

I honestly did think that was the reasoning behind it before. Thanks!

1 Like
#20

I have the feeling there's a lot of wasted real state at the top with the new design. With the old app, iPad On Now looks like this:

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...and with new design:

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I'd personally move the drop down menu to the right of the top menu, and maybe bring back the Search box to the left? Great work.

1 Like