Netflix for Android officially introduces Smart Downloads.

Back in February, I blogged about Netflix testing 'Smart Downloads' after I noticed the feature pop up in the app on my OnePlus 5T. 4 months later, the feature is rolling out for everyone to use. As from now on, Netflix will delete episodes you've watched and then automatically download the next one for you. Of course, Smart Downloads works only when connected to Wi-Fi on your Android phone or tablet. Should you want to keep watched episodes, you can turn off Smart Downloads in the app settings. 



I've found Smart Download to be extremely useful and it's been turned on ever since Netflix pushed it to my device. If you do not see the feature yet, make sure you download the latest version of Netflix in Google Play Store.

Source: Netflix

Is Netflix testing a new 'Smart Downloads' feature on Android?

'Smart Downloads' appears to be a new feature that showed up out of nowhere on my Android device. I'm currently watching season 2 of Van Helsing on the popular streaming platform and today, I went to check the status of the episodes I downloaded to watch offline when I saw a new feature on the 'My Downloads' page.

I check for app updates every day and Netflix is one of those apps that almost never publishes detailed change logs. The last time they did, according to my records, was in April of last year.  Anyway, there's a new feature on the 'My Downloads' page that will automatically delete watched episodes and download the next ones. Netflix will do that only when your device is connected to Wi-Fi. However, it is not clear how many episodes Netflix will download.

'Smart Downloads' is not enabled by default. To activate it, tap the hamburger menu at the top left corner of the app, then select 'My Downloads' and 'Smart Downloads' should be there at the top.  Use the toggle to enable it. 'Smart Downloads' can also be enabled in the app settings.

Since I only just noticed this feature, I cannot tell how well it works. I will update this post after I experiment with it. Also, 'Smart Downloads' doesn't seem to be available to everyone. My wife did not have it on her phone despite the fact that we use the same account. 'Smart Downloads' appeared about an hour later though. A friend and frequent Netflix user also confirmed not seeing 'Smart Downloads'. I'm running Netflix version 5.13.1 on my OnePlus 5T. The only difference on my wife's Samsung S7 Edge is the OS API. Mine is 26 while her phone has version 24. [Update] 'Smart Downloads' showed up on her phone about an hour later.

You can download Netflix in the Play Store for free and let me know if you see 'Smart Downloads' in the app. It appears to be a server-side update.