BBC iPlayer updated on Android, iPhone and iPad

BBC iPlayer has been updated for Android, iPhone and iPad with a new home screen and easier access to all your favourite shows.

The BBC has been rattling through iPlayer updates of late, having recently given a lick of paint to the Sky, Amazon Kindle and Windows Phone 8 apps.

Android and iOS have now also been updated, bringing them more in line with the new-look BBC iPlayer on desktop and laptop computers.

Previously, finding programmes in specific categories on the BBC iPlayer app involved navigating through a small menu, with the new design adding tiled category and channel pages, as well as a new collections feature to help viewers browse related content.

“This update brings the best-ever BBC iPlayer experience to our hugely successful mobile and tablet apps, making the huge breadth of what the BBC offers,” said Dan Taylor, head of BBC iPlayer.

Subtitles are now included in all downloaded programmes, while the app has also been optimised to switch better between landscape and portrait.

The BBC said that Favourites, Downloads and Search would remain unchanged for now, but that the apps would be regularly updated with new features.

One of the biggest future updates will see a rewind feature added to live broadcasts via the Watch Now function. Cross-platform playback and programme recommendations are also in the works.

The BBC iPlayer is one of the most popular apps on Google Play and currently sits in the top-ten most popular apps. It is similarly successful on iOS, where it sits alongside apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as the most downloaded apps.