What do you get when you go higher than a ‘Premium’ level of service? To the hardcore Netflix users among us, the answer is slowly becoming clear; the ‘Ultra’ level.
Netflix is one of the most popular online streaming services in the world. It contains an extremely large selection of movies, TV shows, and original content, most of which are available in high definition (HD) all over the world for a reasonably fair price.
The pricing tiers of Netflix was previously broken down into three plans; ‘Basic’, ‘Standard’ and ‘Premium’. However, Netflix is shaking up this tried and true pricing system by adding an additional level, above ‘Premium’, named the ‘Ultra’ tier.
As things stand, the ‘Basic’ tier offers streaming from one device in standard definition (SD), along with being able to download content onto one phone or tablet. The ‘Standard’ package offers streaming from two devices in HD, along with the ability to download content onto two mobile devices.
The top tier, ‘Premium’ is similar, bumping up the number of devices to four. It also enables both HD and ultra high definition (UDH) streaming, along with downloading capability for four mobile devices.
Each of these higher tiers comes with an expected price hike but offsets it by providing more features and flexibility.
Enter: the ‘Ultra’ tier.
This tier is being tested intermittently and is expected to bring changes to the existing plans that might anger the existing customer-base.
According to Phone Arena Italian customers who’ve received from the streaming service, the new Netflix lineup would reduce the total number of devices the content can be downloaded to for the ‘Premium’ package from 4 to 2, along with taking down the ‘Standard’ package from 2 devices to 1. However, users do report that it is still possible to stream content on 4 screens simultaneously with the ‘Premium’ tier.
Despite this, one can’t help but to feel like this new package is simply a price hike for the services that already exist, without adding anything meaningful or substantial to the new ‘Ultra’ tier. The inclusion of high dynamic range (HDR) video and HD audio is nice but is it really worth a boost in price? It remains to be seen.
The following is a graphic posted on Phone Arena and cites the new price as €16.99, which cost about RM 80.28.
Source: FirsPost
It is currently unknown when Netflix plans to unveil its new pricing plan and how much it would be priced in Malaysia.
Header Image Source: DesignMantic
