Netflix wants you to watch “Clips,” a vertical video feed similar to TikTok

You’ve heard about Instagram Reels — now get ready for Netflix clips.

Netflix is ​​redesigning its mobile app and introducing Clips, a vertical video feed aimed at helping users discover new content by sharing highlights from Netflix original programming.

“Think of ‘Clips’ as a personalized highlight that helps you decide what you want to watch or play next, without endless scrolling,” Netflix wrote in a press release. “You’ll see short clips from series, movies and specials tailored to your tastes, with an easy way to dig deeper when something catches your eye.”

The idea is that if you’re traveling, you probably won’t be pulling out your phone to watch the next three minutes of the episode of “Love is Blind” you’re watching. But you might watch a short, curated clip of another show on Netflix to get a quick laugh (which is exactly what Netflix launched a similar feature, Fast Laughs, in 2021).

It may have caught our attention five years ago when every social media platform rushed to launch a TikTok copycat feature, but now, even LinkedIn is rolling out vertical video on its mobile app. It’s safe to say that vertical video is here to stay.

For its part, Netflix has been experimenting for years with how to integrate short-form video, and the company appears to have settled on Clips.

It’s not just social feeds similar to TikTok where vertical video is taking over. The industry of microdramas — small-scale series of episodes, typically less than 10 minutes each, designed for viewing on a phone screen — which first took off in Asia, is gaining traction in the United States, making users more accustomed to watching serialized stories on vertical feeds.

Other streaming companies like Peacock and Tubi are also adding vertical video experiences on mobile.

At TechCrunch Disrupt last October, Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, talked about Netflix’s experiment with vertical video, but said Netflix isn’t trying to compete with TikTok.

“[Netflix] “We don’t intend to copy or chase exactly what TikTok or others are doing because we believe there’s a certain type of entertainment — or moment of truth — that’s particularly valuable to our members, and we really want to focus there, versus trying to be everything in every moment, which I don’t think should be a core part of the strategy,” Stone said at the time.