The BBC has updated its BBC iPlayer applications for Android, iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to bring them into line with the new design first implemented on the web version and PS3.

You can find the updates on Google Play and the iTunes App Store now and the alterations and improvements have been made to enhance the experience and help you find the shows you want to watch as easily as possible.

So what are the main changes to the new mobile BBC iPlayer app?

Home screen

A new home screen offers a selection of curated programmes and the most popular shows available on the platform.

Category pages

New category pages offer a selection of curated programmes that suit the category chosen. All shows are presented in a simple A-Z list so it should be easy to find what you're looking for.

Channel pages

Channels now each get their own section, which is aesthetically themed around the channel in question. For example, the Cbeebies area has bright colours and is designed to look good to its very young target audience. Watch Live is now prominently displayed for each channel for easy access.

Subtitles

Subtitles are now available for downloaded programmes, so can be activated for offline viewing.

Design

The new optimised design switches comfortably for landscape and portrait viewing, no matter the platform.

Collections

Programme themes or entire series are now grouped together in collections. That means shows clicked on with present all episodes available, not just the one chosen.

Future features

The BBC will add further new features over time. Favourites, Downloads and Search are all identical and will remain that way for now, but there are plans to add the ability to rewind live television and continuous play, so the next episode in a series will start automatically after the last has finished.

The BBC also wants to make its iPlayer experience more personalised, with cross-platform playback and tailored recommendations planned.

You can download the new versions of BBC iPlayer for Android and iOS for free from Google Play and iTunes respectively.