Netflix has been rolling out a fresh UI for the platform since early May, the first time the UI has seen a significant change in a dozen years. Like all UI changes that aren’t asked for, many users are nonplussed after receiving the new design thanks to giant display cards that fill the screen, utilizing what looks like a tablet UI, but on our giant TVs, which many feel wastes too much space.

However, despite so many voices pointing out the lackluster design, Netflix supposedly performed its own internal testing, which says the silent majority prefers the new design (via The Hollywood Reporter), but it’s worth keeping in mind that Netflix has not provided any proof of this.

Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite and Alexa Voice Remote Lite on gray pavement

Plenty are displeased with the new Netflix UI

And it’s easy to see why

Netflix revamped homepage on TV

Source: Netflix

Wasting space like a champ. My TV isn’t a tablet, Netflix

What we do have proof of is endless complaints about the new UI, and I can certainly say I’m not a fan. I’ve long suspected Netflix often shuffles its content from row to row while changing box art to confuse users and make it appear as though the library is much bigger than it is. You know what would also be a great way to hide how small your library is? Create a gigantic tablet UI that hides the majority of visible content from the user. Now you get to scroll twice as much to see the same amount of info you did with the old UI, thus making it that much harder and time-consuming to actually scroll through Netflix’s content options.

Worse, the always accessible sidebar has been moved to the top. The choice is to either scroll all the way back up to access its menus or hit the back button, which, of course, isn’t actually explained to the end user that this function exists, once again shining a light on poor design when you have to guess how a UI functions. I’ve had to repeatedly remind family members they don’t have to scroll all the way back up but can use the back button, and I have no doubt Netflix likely has metrics that say the same, once again keeping people in the app for longer, seemingly thanks to bad design.

A phone with the Netflix app open laying on $100 bills

Sure, eventually the naysayers will either leave or get used to the new UI, but at the end of the day, it seems pretty clear there is a very loud subsection of Netflix users who abhor the new UI, and the reasons for disliking it make a ton of sense. It wastes screen space egregiously and makes it harder to see the entire library without scrolling much more than in the past, with a top bar that is a pain to reach unless you use a shortcut.

Objectively, the new Netflix UI appears to be a bad design that potentially exists to keep users engaged and in the app for longer, much like how Google made Search results worse to keep users in Search for longer. It would seem anything goes these days in the tech world, except polished UIs that are quick to navigate; those appear to be long dead in the name of increasing engagement.