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If you've been hearing marketers shoving 'snackable content' down our throats – like what Buzzfeed does to our taste buds, then Quibi is the perfect antidote to the perception of what bite-sized content should be. As a platform that hosts bite-sized video content that is 10 minutes long, Quibi has hit the sweet spot that adheres to the millennial attention span when on the go. A ten-minute coffee break? A five-minute bathroom visit or the train ride home from work/school; Revolving around short, original programming, Quibi can be downloaded on iPhone and Android.
With your smartphone at the center of its functionality, Quibi is the only ranger in this category. Major players like Amazon and Netflix let you experience their content on TV via the TV app, but Quibi can only be viewed on your phone. An ad-free version costs US $ 7.99, however, those willing to shell out US $ 4.99 can take advantage of the 'with ads' option. As I mentioned before, each episode of your chosen series is, by design, 10 minutes or less. For those who don't know, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman are the people behind this project. The launch could not have been better timed, given the lockdown situation in most countries.
We're all used to seeing our content in landscape mode, and here's Quibi's biggest difference. The app also allows you to view your content in portrait mode. Maybe that's why there isn't a tablet-optimized version of the app. I have been watching some series in this mode and I must admit that it is much more satisfying to watch a video in portrait mode than in landscape mode.
What I love about this app is that each presentation mode is optimized for a T. For example, when you switch from portrait mode to landscape mode, you will notice how the angles or photos are optimized and even the text and credits look aligned with the way they are being viewed. The creative process took this aspect into account and is quite continuous.
The nomenclature for this feature is 'Turnstyle', which Quibi is very proud of. I think this is more due to the ergonomics of a phone. It's much easier for you to carry your phone in portrait orientation than in landscape, and if there's ease and convenience, no dropped or cropped frames – just like you do a video call – then there's no reason why we shouldn't adopt this new behavior that was presented to us. Using the clock, sensors, and GPS built into smartphones, Quibi uses Turnstyle to its advantage.
As soon as you download the app and register, you will be greeted by the 'For You Tab', with one of the featured series at the top. Rolling is more like shaking or sliding up a vertical deck of cards. The movement is similar to what you do on Flipboard. The only difference is that Quibi has subtle haptic vibration feedback that makes a very soft clicking sound, giving the impression that you've slid an image up on the deck. Stay in the image a little longer, and the series preview video starts playing. Details such as the program title and metadata are easily readable on the vertical card interface. By the way, you can turn off 'tap vibration' for scrolling in Additional Preferences, but in my opinion, you should leave it on.
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Getting started is very easy, just click on the card or click on the three dots located at the bottom of the screen. You can browse shows and episodes, download and follow your favorites, from the menu located at the bottom of the screen. You can browse by genres, new releases, daily essentials like lifestyle and news. If you don't know where to start, my recommendation is to start from the Trending pile.
Features like tracking the latest episodes or receiving notifications when new ones are uploaded are mandatory, so it's a given that this is part of the launch. Basic controls like play, pause, rewind, and forward are included as on-screen controls. In portrait mode, the progress bar is positioned on the right side as a vertical bar – similar to a sand timer, the time ends at the bottom of the screen. For those who are left-handed, Quibi has you covered as you can switch to left-handed mode in the settings.
