Netflix blog all but promises iPhone version of app
OK, it's not all that surprising that the streaming movie & DVD shipper would plan an iPhone app to go along with the now-only-hours-away iPad version... but tonight's blog post on the Official Netflix Blog is downright cheeky.
Context & Ripple Effects
This lands hours before the iPad's launch, and it is the mobile chapter of a device-by-device push Netflix has been running since [[a:none|Reed Hastings unveiled]] its black-box streaming player in September 2009 — a product he explicitly framed as a disruptive threat to cable. Since then the company has signed five more consumer electronics manufacturers to carry its streaming service (January 2010) and showed a red-themed Windows Phone 7 Series prototype in mid-March.
Today's Official Netflix Blog post confirms the iPad app ships within hours, while cheekily signaling — without committing — that an iPhone version is planned. That hedged phrasing matters: Netflix is telegraphing its roadmap to Apple's smaller screen before any announcement, keeping momentum in its multi-screen expansion narrative.
First-order effects
- iPad buyers get Netflix streaming as a launch-window option, making the tablet a day-one competitor for couch viewing time against DVDs-by-mail and cable.
- iPhone owners receive a public, if unofficial, signal that their device is next — shaping expectations before Netflix has committed to a ship date.
Second-order effects
- The five CE manufacturers and platform partners Netflix has been signing since January now compete for attention against Apple's mobile screens, raising the bar for what 'supported device' means in licensing talks.
- Rival streaming and pay-TV services face pressure to match per-device apps rather than rely on browser playback, since Netflix is setting subscriber expectations for native experiences on every screen class.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — set-top box, connected TVs, tablets, phones — streaming subscriptions consolidate into an everywhere-service model, advancing the cable-obsolescence thesis Hastings staked out when the hardware launched in 2009.
- Mobile carriers and handset makers become gatekeepers for premium video traffic, positioning network capacity deals and platform terms as the next battleground for services like Netflix.
The trend: Netflix is executing a deliberate every-screen strategy — living room, tablet, then phone — turning device ubiquity into its core competitive moat over traditional pay TV.