If you own a recent Samsung phone you’re about to get Milk Video, a new app that pulls in some of the best content from around the web into a beautiful, streamlined interface. It’s hardly the only video app out there, but it sure is pretty.
In the vein of the Milk Music, the streaming music app Samsung earlier this year, Milk Video is a Samsung device exclusive designed to add value to the company’s handsets. There’s something to building a custom video app: One of the big reasons to buy big phones like the Galaxy Note 4 is that it makes immersing yourself into a a video easier and more enjoyable.
When you fire up Milk Video, you’ll immediately be presented a list of videos from channels you are following, as well as content reposted by users you follow. Right now the app’s channels are limited to a series of partners, whom you’ll recognise as some of the the greats of web video, including Refinery 29, Vevo, Funny or Die, The Onion, Motherboard, Wired and many more. So no user generated content for now, though, Samsung says it’s looking into providing avenues for independent creators to get their stuff onto the service.
In order to follow users and channels, as well as to repost, like and share videos, you’ll have to login to to Milk Video with your Facebook account.
The service’s interface is designed to scroll infinitely with ease. When you click on a video, it plays in the top of the screen in portrait orientation, so you can keep browsing videos while keeping an eye on something that’s playing. The video only takes over your whole screen if you rotate your phone into landscape position.
Maybe the nicest interaction touch in Milk Video is the rainbow coloured strip on the right side of the UI. Drag your finger along the strip, and you’ll be shown a scrolling list of video categories you can jump to, like comedy, how to, news, and random.
Milk Video is definitely a fun little app, even if it is very limited. Samsung phone owners who actually bother to open it will be treated to minutes, if not exactly hours of enjoyment. But I’m reasonably optimistic that the service will get better down the line as Samsung opens the app to more channels and a broader audience of users than just people who own Samsung devices. But ultimately it’s free, and you can’t have too many free things in life. [Samsung]
Pictures: Nick Stango