Streaming Apps Embrace Short-Form Video Discovery on Mobile
Short-form video discovery has moved from social media into mainstream streaming apps, and it is rapidly becoming a core part of mobile content discovery. Both Prime Video and Netflix are redesigning their streaming app features around a vertical video feed that feels familiar to anyone who scrolls TikTok or Instagram. Instead of browsing static rows of posters, users now flick through short, personalized clips that auto-play in full-screen, helping them decide what to watch in seconds. This shift reflects how people increasingly consume entertainment on phones: in brief, continuous bursts of vertical content rather than long sessions of deliberate searching. For platforms facing saturated catalogs and choice fatigue, vertical feeds offer a way to surface more of their libraries, turn idle moments into discovery opportunities, and keep users engaged even when they are not ready to commit to a full movie or episode.
Prime Video Clips: From NBA Highlights to a Full Entertainment Feed
Prime Video Clips began as a targeted experiment during the 2025–26 NBA season, where fans could browse short video highlights on the NBA collection page before jumping into live or full-length coverage. Now Amazon is expanding Clips into a scrollable, short-form video feed featuring scenes and moments from movies and television series across its wider library. Accessible via a Clips carousel on the mobile home page, the experience opens into a vertical video feed tailored to each viewer’s interests. Within each clip, users can start the full title, rent or buy it, subscribe for access, add it to their watchlist, or share the clip via messaging and social platforms. Shared links open directly into the Prime Video app, extending discovery beyond the home screen. The rollout, initially for select users on iOS, Android and Fire tablets, sits alongside a refreshed mobile interface with autoplay trailers and vertical poster images.
Netflix’s Clips Feature Pushes Discovery ‘For the Moments In Between’
Netflix is following a similar playbook with its own Clips feature, part of a redesigned mobile experience built around a vertical video feed and streamlined navigation. Clips serves up short, personalized previews of movies, series and specials, designed to make it faster to find something worth watching. From the feed, users can add titles to My List, share recommendations via text or social media, or tap through to explore a fuller selection of related content. Netflix frames this as an experience tailored to quick, in-between moments on mobile, not just sit-down viewing sessions. The company also plans to extend Clips beyond its core catalog to include podcasts, live programming and curated collections by genre or interest. This approach builds on the platform’s broader interface overhaul on TV devices, aiming to make recommendations more prominent and discovery more intuitive across screens.
Vertical Feeds as the New Discovery Layer for Streaming Platforms
The convergence around a vertical video feed underscores how streaming giants are adapting to shifts in viewing behavior. TikTok-style scrolling has trained users to expect instant, bite-sized previews and endless personalization, and streaming platforms are now integrating those expectations into mobile content discovery. Prime Video Clips and Netflix’s Clips both transform the phone into a continuous reel of recommendations, where every swipe reveals a new scene, joke or moment that can be expanded into a full viewing session. This reduces friction compared to traditional grid layouts and search bars, while providing more signals about user taste as they watch, like and share clips. As these feeds expand from niche experiments like NBA highlights into the broader entertainment library, they are evolving into a central discovery layer that connects casual browsing, social sharing and long-form viewing within the same mobile-first experience.