You can regard Netflix as the leading streaming service for TV shows and movies and after their big roll-out on November 2015, they became available to over 200 countries. You can watch content in either Standard Definition (SD), High Definition (HD) and even in Ultra High Definition (UHD) if you have the required speeds.
However, in the TV world and electronics aside, there has been a new buzzword: HDR video. HDR (High Dynamic Range) video employs a wider contrast which means expanding the range between dark and bright areas of the video. Once you experience HDR video, you never really go back since it always looks ‘brighter’ and more colourful than the equivalent video of the same resolution.
Netflix supports HDR and although you can watch HDR content if you have a TV that supports it, smartphones are only starting to catch up. This year, we have seen smartphone manufacturers releasing flagship grade phones that have HDR ready displays: The Sony Xperia XZ Premium, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the LG G6.
Although the above phones can support HDR content, only one of the three is supported by Netflix when it comes to HDR video: The LG G6. Netflix revealed this on a help page where under the tab on HDR and Dolby Vision (another HDR standard), LG G6 is the only one that is listed to be supported.
For the LG G6 owners, in order to watch HDR content, you need the Netflix app version 5.0 and that is not yet available. The LG G6’s display supports HDR 10 and Dolby Vision so it makes sense that they were quick to support it first.
The other two smartphones, the XZ Premium and the Samsung Galaxy S8 might be supported later but now LG G6 owners have something to brag about.
