Tired of hokey in-flight movies or spotty DirecTV connections ? United Airlines is adding an option for watching TV during flights that lets passengers stream content directly to their laptop , iPhone , iPad or iPod touch for free . The airline announced the new entertainment system in February and will roll it out on U.S. flights starting in April . United will preload 150 movies and 200 TV shows onto an on-board system . Passengers with compatible devices will be able to stream directly from a server on the plane , so there 's no need to pay for in-flight WIFi service , and the airline wo n't have to worry about an entire airplane of people gobbling up bandwidth while binge-watching . United has chosen a combination of new and classic content , including popular TV shows `` Downton Abbey '' and Netflix 's `` House of Cards '' to start . Eventually the aircraft will swap in fresh movies and episodes every month so frequent fliers do n't run out of things to watch . The program does have some limitations . The most notable is that it only works with Apple smartphones and tablets running iOS 6 and above for the time being . To watch shows on an iOS device , passengers must download the official United app . Android users are out in the cold unless they have a laptop handy , but United is working on adding support . `` We expect to offer the same service for users of Android mobile devices later this year , '' said a United spokesperson . Passengers can watch the movies and shows only while in the air , but United plans on making it work from `` gate-to-gate '' to reflect recent changes in mobile device policies . Late last year , the FAA changed its policy to allow passengers to use mobile devices before and during takeoff and landing , at the discretion of the airlines . On computers , the streaming works with Windows computers running Windows XP and Windows 7 . It requires the most recent versions of the Chrome , Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers . Mac laptops must have OS X 10.6 or higher and use Safari , Chrome or Firefox . The browsers must run Flash 10.3 or higher . For security reasons , some of the content can only be viewed with a specific browser plug-in , which can be downloaded in-flight . The first planes to offer the feature will be the Airbus A319 and A320 , the Boeing 747-400 and some Boeing 777-200s . To decide if you need to download all three seasons of `` Veronica Mars '' before getting on a cross-country United flight , check to see whether the new in-flight mobile streaming service is offered by looking at the list of amenities for your flight .
United Airlines is adding free in-flight movie and TV streaming starting in April . The service will work only with Apple mobile devices and Apple and Windows laptops . In a blog post, the airline said it was testing out its new offering to see if customers would use it.