Quibi inches toward usability by adding AirPlay streaming support

When it launched in April, Quibi carried the express mission statement of offering short-form videos designed to watch on-the-fly. The service's narrow focus rubbed a lot of potential subscribers the wrong way, with many requesting a more traditional method for watching the service's series.

Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg blames coronavirus for the streaming app's challenges

Ultimately, Quibi's launch was a disappointing one, with founder Jeffrey Katzenberg blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for the service's rocky start. It was a strange assertion, given how other streaming services have thrived amid lockdowns. In the same interview, the exec also alluded to the addition of support for streaming to TV.

The move followed an earlier suggestion that the feature was already on the roadmap, though the pandemic and Quibi's disappointing performance may have accelerated the launch of the feature, which honestly ought to have been present since day one. Quibi has just delivered on that promise by adding support for Apple's AirPlay. That means iOS users can now stream Quibi's frustratingly short content directly to their AirPlay-enabled sets.

Sure we designed Quibi for on-the-go, but these days visiting the family room is like a day trip... so AirPlay support is live for iOS in Quibi 1.3. Working hard on Chromecast too which will be available in June.

- Tom Conrad (@tconrad) May 26, 2020

Chief Product Officer Tom Conrad noted the change on Twitter, Sure we designed Quibi for on-the-go, but these days visiting the family room is like a day trip... so AirPlay support is live for iOS in Quibi 1.3." What's more, support for Chromecast streaming will arrive next month, according to the executive.

Interesting that the news comes the day HBO is launching its eagerly anticipated Max service, the latest powerhouse in an already crowded streaming market. But it's certainly nice to see the company continuing to evolve after what's been mostly regarded as a disappointing launch. Now might we recommend doing something about show length?