Disney Announces Redesigned Disney+ App, More
In a press release on Thursday, Disney announced big changes for Hulu and Disney+.
Hulu, Disney says, is poised to “reach worldwide audiences” beginning next week, on October 8, when it becomes what the company is calling “the global general entertainment brand on Disney+.” Disney notes the changes, in strategy and in user interface design, are anticipatory in nature as the “fully integrated unified app experience” is expected to arrive sometime next year. The news comes after it was announced in August the standalone Hulu app would be retired and folded into Disney+.
Most interesting from an accessibility perspective is the overhauled app design. In the announcement, Disney shares screenshots of the new look alongside detailed explanations of what’s changing. At a high level, the tab-oriented design is conceptually identical to what Netflix did to its app insofar as, like Netflix, Disney is touting a “simpler” and “more intuitive” experience, replete with splashier visuals and personalized recommendations powered by “an updated algorithm that learns user preferences over time.” Aesthetically, I think the new design is a real looker; in terms of usability, I like this trend of using a top-anchored tab bar for accessibility. Especially for cognition—which arguably matters most of all when it comes to navigating streaming apps—it can be immensely helpful for many people with intellectual disabilities to know that to find stuff, it starts at the top. Likewise, the heightened emphasis on nicer poster art and other visuals can make it more accessible for someone to identify, for example, The Simpsons, by seeing a big picture of Homer Simpson’s face in the menu. That the Disney+ app is moving to a more tab-focused design is especially important because, being the media conglomerate it is, Disney owns (and thus wants to promote) content from properties like Marvel, ESPN, Star Wars, and of course, the aforementioned Hulu.
“The new design is more modern and intuitive so users can find and discover the characters and stories they love,” Disney wrote of the forthcoming redesign of the Disney+ app. “This includes a new video display in the Hero carousel and a more dynamic brand row, showcasing the latest titles from each brand. We’ve also updated our content sets to showcase more cinematic poster-style artwork.”
I’ve been enjoying Netflix’s new app. It’s pretty and is more user-friendly to me.
Elsewhere, Disney mentions widgets are set to launch on iOS—by contrast, the redesign is more focused on tvOS, for instance—so as to “take users directly into our programming with one click.” Moreover, the company teased the enhancements are “just the beginning,” saying “additional updates [are] planned” in the run-up to the official release of the ballyhooed “unified app experience” coming sometime in 2026.
