News

Netflix Introduces “Play Something” Shuffle Feature

The new “Play Something” feature plays content based on your watch history, whether it’s something new, not yet finished, or just hanging around in your queue.

Published

5 years ago

May 3, 2021

Joanna Melki

Netflix

Do you sometimes turn on Netflix, only to find yourself unable to decide what you want to watch? You’re not the only one! Fortunately for you and all other indecisive viewers, the “Play Something” feature has just been officially announced by Cameron Johnson, Director of Product Innovation at Netflix.

“When you hit the ‘Play Something’ button, you’ll be instantly met with a series or film we know you’ll love based on what you’ve watched before,” writes Johnson in the official announcement.

If Netflix doesn’t get it right on the first try, you can simply click “Play Something Else” and get:

Different series or film.
Series or film you’re already watching.
Series or film on your list.
Unfinished series or film.

For now, the new feature is available only for smart TV, but testing for mobile devices is planned to start soon.

How To Use The “Play Something” Feature

Launch the Netflix app on your smart TV.
Select the “Press Something” button located:
- Underneath your profile name.
- In the tenth row on your Netflix homepage.
- In the navigation menu on the left of the screen.
Press the “Play Something Else” button if you want another suggestion.

Netflix users who rely on screen readers will be pleased to know that the new feature fully supports Text-to-Speech (TTS).

Also Read: Netflix Is Testing A Way To Stop Its Users From Sharing Their Passwords

With the “Play Something” feature, Netflix becomes one step closer to the traditional cable experience, whose inherent element of surprise is both one of its biggest downsides and benefits.

Now that users can tell Netflix to pick something to watch for them, they are far more likely to discover hidden gems they might otherwise miss or become hooked on the company’s exclusive content. The latter is especially important for the streaming giant because exclusive content is what keeps subscribers subscribed.

News

At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value

Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

at io 2026 sundar pichai concedes ai must deliver real value

Google

Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.

The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.

Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.

The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.

Also Read: DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch

Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.

What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.