Skip to main content

Plex for iOS gets total redesign, video chapter support, now free

plex-for-ios
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Available on iOS as of this week (version 8.1 and higher), Plex has completely re-built the Plex mobile application to improve the user interface as well as provide new features such as faster mobile syncing, video chapters with thumbnails and the Rotten Tomatoes score when browsing movies. According to the announcement post on the official Plex blog, the app has been designed to showcase content with rich media browsing, somewhat similar to the Netflix user interface.

Interestingly, Plex has shifted to a free model for the initial download. Prior to this point, users had to pay $4.99 to download the Plex app. While the $4.99 fee is still required to unlock content streaming from a Plex Media Server to an iOS device, anyone that’s using the free version will be able to use the app as a remote control when playing content on another device as well as fling photos from a camera roll to a Plex player.

Incidentally, Plex has also added the ability to upgrade to the Plex Pass premium subscription within the app. Prior to this point, that could only be accomplished through the Web interface. With a Plex Pass subscription, users will gain access to the popular mobile sync function, a feature that lets users transfer content from a Plex Media Server to an iOS mobile device for consumption when a Wi-Fi or LTE signal isn’t available.

According to Plex, the mobile syncing feature has been significantly upgraded in terms of transfer speed. In addition, support for partial sync has been added. This would be ideal when you don’t have time to finish a sync completely. You can halt the syncing process at any time and still take advantage of the content that was downloaded to the device prior to the stopping point.

On top of that, Plex has added support for video chapters. However, it doesn’t matter if chapter data is absent. Plex can pull chapter data from ChapterDb.org as well as display thumbnails of those specific chapter points in movies.

Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
Here’s how iOS 18 could change the way you use your iPhone
The lock screen on the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

It seems the long-overdue Siri overhaul will finally arrive at WWDC in just over a week from now, and the digital assistant will embrace AI trickery in all its forms. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s planned upgrades for Siri will deeply integrate with on-device functions at the OS level and with the installed apps, too.

“The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features within apps for the first time,” the report says. The most notable capability is that Siri will only require voice prompts to interact with apps, thanks to a major change in the AI architecture powering it and putting large language models in command, just the way Gemini or ChatGPT draw their own skills from such models.

Read more
iOS 18 may give Siri the upgrade we’ve been waiting for
Hey Siri

Apple isn’t immune from the AI craze sweeping the rest of the industry. Following the likes of Google with Gemini Nano, Apple is set to roll out AI upgrades to the iPhone with iOS 18. Code-named “Project Graymatter,” the iOS 18 update will bring a variety of AI-powered enhancements to the iPhone and Siri in particular.

According to AppleInsider, the features are being tested in advance of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and one of the biggest is called “Graymatter Catch Up.” The feature is tied to Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, which will now allow users to request and receive an AI overview of the most recent notifications.

Read more
The Beats Pill is back, baby!
A pair of Beats Pill speakers.

In what's been one of the worst-kept secrets of the year -- mostly because subtly putting a product into the hands of some of the biggest stars on the planet is no way to keep a secret -- the Beats Pill has returned. Just a couple of years after Apple and Beats unceremoniously killed off the stylish Bluetooth speaker, a new one has arrived.

Available for preorder today in either black, red, or gold, the $150 speaker (and speakerphone, for that matter) rounds out a 2024 release cycle for beats that includes the Solo Buds and Solo 4 headphones, and comes nearly a year after the Beats Studio Pro.

Read more