Quibi Needs a Better Pitch Than 'Rotate Your Phone'

Quibi, a new streaming-video brand, is getting sued over a “groundbreaking” feature of its app that another company claims Quibi stole — and now a big-time hedge fund is even joining the fight. But here’s the kicker: This supposed defining feature of the Quibi experience is something that its users probably don’t care all that much about.

The technology at the center of the lawsuit is something Quibi calls Turnstyle and its CEO Meg Whitman has described as “groundbreaking.” When a user is watching a show, they can alternate between holding the phone vertically or horizontally to have different views of the same scene. For example, in the beginning of the Quibi thriller “The Stranger” — don’t worry, no spoilers here — holding the phone in landscape mode would reveal a wider-angle shot of Clare, a taxi driver, as she sits beside her creepy passenger. Turning the phone to portrait mode instead gives a close-up view of Clare’s face, better conveying the fear she’s feeling in that moment. It kind of allows the viewer to be in the director’s seat.