I've written before how mildly annoying it has been as a Movies & TV user on Microsoft's platform. Besides never really knowing for sure if Redmond is fully committed to the service, after shutting down Groove Music, we're still lacking a mobile app, and offline playback on Xbox One. Perhaps most annoyingly of all for users outside the US, the rollout of 4K movies to Europe, Australia, and other major Windows and Xbox markets has been ridiculously slow. I recall one instance where there was a major "sale" on 4K movies on the Microsoft Store, comprised of just two titles for the UK.
However, I noticed this weekend while browsing for new movies to watch that, indeed, it seems the uptick of 4K titles on the UK store is getting a bit better. I picked up Detective Pikachu in all of its 4K glory from the UK store last week, and a few others on my Twitter feed have noticed improvements as well. The latest Godzilla movie is available in UHD, as well as John Wick 3, and Avengers Endgame.
There's still a big gap overall between the UK and U.S., at least. With movies like Aladdin (2019) sporting UHD in North America, but only up to HD in Europe. However, it seems Microsoft is working to get even some older movies licensed for UHD, with the Dark Knight Trilogy and The Matrix Trilogy both picking up UHD versions in Europe and other territories.
If you want to check out what 4K movies are available in your region, the Microsoft Store on Windows has a 4K section at the bottom under Featured Collections.
With Microsoft moving deeper into Android with the Surface Duo and, what seems to be increased investment in licensing, maybe we can finally get a Microsoft Movies & TV mobile app that has been rumored since, well, forever.
Have you noticed any improvements to the Movies & TV library recently? Let us know in the comments.
