Netflix updates iPad app for Retina support

The official Netflix app on the iPad has just been given a big makeover.

Specifically, the new app is for people who have purchased the newest iPad, so that users can navigate through the video streaming service in a higher resolution that has previously been possible.

It isn’t the video quality that has improved, though. Netflix went all out in other areas, optimizing menu screens, creating crisper thumbnails for movies and TV show titles, and enhancing its text-to-speech functionality.

The new app also improves playback quality when users hook their iPad to an external display, but as for the quality of video when playing on the iPad itself, Netflix doesn’t appear to have changed anything.

However, according to the company’s official Twitter account, there will be an update “later” to start streaming video content to the tablet in the highest resolution possible.

Netflix, of course, is finding its home on devices like the iPad an extremely crucial piece of its business strategy. While many people are streaming content through game consoles and other devices connected to the TV, it’s the on-the-go aspect that truly differentiates Netflix from other services.

For example, Amazon is moving in on Netflix’s territory with its Prime Instant Video service, which users can easily bring up on their TV.

But without the following on mobile devices like Netflix has, Amazon can’t truly compete. Netflix has done a great job of keeping its mobile presence strong and intact. The new iPad update is available now.