Prime Video Redesigns Interface with New Navigation, Top 10 Features

As Prime Day finishes for another year, the more than 150 million Prime Video customers can look forward to another event -- but this one is all about streaming. Amazon announced Monday that it's giving Prime Video a makeover, one intended to make streaming more streamlined.

The streaming service's redesign rolls out this week for all living room devices such as Roku, Apple TV and Fire TV, and Android devices. The update includes improvements to search including highlighting Amazon-branded titles and differentiating between included titles and ones that are for rent or purchase. New labeling, new sections and fresh visuals will take effect for all users during the summer, Amazon says. 

Helena Cerna, Prime Video's director of product management, told CNET the team spent roughly 18 months working on the redesign. Cerna explained that with new content such as Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and more live sports programming on the horizon, Amazon wanted to roll out this round of features "as quickly as possible." Prime Video is included with Prime memberships, but can be purchased as a standalone subscription for $9 per month.  

The new interface

One of the most noticeable additions to the new layout is the Top 10 carousel. On the homepage, Prime Video lists the top TV shows and movies in your country, whether it's an Amazon Original or a licensed film like House of Gucci. You can explore this row and click on any title to check out trailers, begin streaming, or buy or rent a show or movie. Switch to the Store tab and a different Top 10 lineup spotlights the most popular channels on the app, with options for you to purchase a subscription.

Visual highlights include enlarged graphics for TV shows and movie previews and cinematic trailers. You'll also find quick access to content such as live sports. A new side navigation bar contains tabs for Prime Video's primary functions: Live TV, Store, Find, Free with Ads, My Stuff and the home screen. To simplify finding content, clicking the Home icon pulls up a submenu that helps you navigate to TV shows, movies or sports.

While the Continue Watching row already exists in Prime Video, it wasn't given prominence at the top of the home screen. You'll now notice that it's the first row on the page and features Amazon Originals along with films and TV shows you're watching from third-party subscriptions like Showtime.

Meanwhile under the Continue Watching section, Prime Video props up its super carousel by showcasing posters for Amazon Original titles and exclusive Prime content. Scroll through this clickable row to see expanded images and information about your selection, such as ratings.

A My Subscriptions row organizes your Prime Channels or add-ons in one centralized place. Clicking on the brand's logo lets you access its videos or begin a new subscription for services such as Starz or Paramount Plus. Additionally, a gold shopping bag icon helps identify which add-on channels can be purchased in this section. 

Throughout the app, a gold font is used to designate which TV shows, movies or subscriptions are available to rent, buy or check out with a free trial. In contrast, blue specifies which programming is already included with Prime or a paid subscription provider such as Discovery Plus. Though the color assignments are not new, the gold shopping bag symbol is one of the recent redesign features meant to make it easier to distinguish between what's included and what's not.

In terms of slicker navigation, the addition of the Live TV hub serves as an integrated, one-stop shop for all live programming on Prime and your paid subscriptions. The page houses a guide to all livestreaming channels, a row for upcoming events like concerts or the NFL's Thursday Night Football, stations you've recently watched and live titles currently playing with any subscription, such as AMC Plus.