Showmax is one of the leading video on demand products around. Owned by MultiChoice, the platform has been reporting notable growth over the years and has since started airing original shows. It has also partnered with telco Safaricom to give customers one of the best streaming deals, including a plan that costs KES 390 that also comes with a gig of data.
Now, the company is announcing new developments that will see customers use less data on their phones. This will give users more control over how much data they use, with the addition of a Max Data Saving mode that uses just 50MB per hour.
This is currently available within the iOS mobile version of the Showmax app and will be rolled out to Android app users soon.
Earlier on, Showmax had introduced Low and Data Savings modes, which use up to 300MB and 100MB per hour respectively.
In comparison, the Maximum Quality setting, which gives you the best possible picture, uses up to 1.4GB per hour.
The data modes can be found at Settings > App Preferences in your iOS mobile Showmax app and set the video quality for both Wi-Fi and cellular.
Alternatively, after you press play, click the Video Quality wheel icon below the video to set the quality that is best for you.
Both Showmax and Showmax Pro are available on mobile-only plans, viewable on a single mobile device, for KES 300 per month for Showmax Mobile and KES 1050 per month for Showmax Pro Mobile.
“Showmax is designed for Africa: a mobile-first continent where the cost of data remains a barrier to streaming,” says Barry Dubovsky, chief operating officer, MultiChoice Connected Video. “Showmax was the first streaming service in Africa to make mobile downloads possible for offline viewing and the first to launch a mobile-only plan, so we want to keep tailor-making Showmax for African realities.”