What you need to know
- YouTube previews a redesign that merges its Library and account page into the "You" tab for a user's history, playlists, and more.
- Another feature lets users search for music on YouTube using their singing voice or by humming along, similar to the Google app.
- YouTube is rolling out increased thumbnail size when scrubbing through videos, easier 2x speed initiation, and a "lock screen" to avoid input disruptions.
The year isn't over yet which means users should brace themselves for quite a helping of new features arriving on YouTube.
The video streaming platform went into detail about several of these features in a blog post. YouTube's mobile app is getting a bit of a shakeup by way of a new "You" tab in the bottom UI. In an effort to make things more "intuitive," the post states it has merged the former Library tab and the account page together.
The "You" tab will now contain your watch history, playlists, downloads, and any YouTube purchases. Other details involve settings and channel information. This is rolling out today on Android, iOS, tablets, and the web.
Also arriving on Android devices today, users can vocally search for a song by humming or singing what they know. The platform states it uses AI to match what it hears to the original audio recording it has on file. Something similar has existed on the Google app on mobile devices. Tapping the colorful microphone opens the AI's ears, and a little option at the bottom, "search a song," appears if you want to sing your heart away.
Additional features are finding their way onto YouTube for a variety of devices to make watching videos more manageable. The platform adds that a "stable volume" option is rolling out on mobile devices to balance out audio in a video to avoid jarring listening situations.
Watching a video at 2x speed is now easier as users can hold anywhere on the player to do so. YouTube states this function "will be available" on the web, tablets, and mobile phones.
Scrubbing through a video to find a specific part is also getting a little easier as users will find larger thumbnails to help them spot the perfect position. Moreover, if you're scrubbing through and realize you'd like to go back, sliding your finger back to where you think you were will vibrate your phone, so you know you've got it right.
Rounding out some video-specific updates is a "lock screen" for smartphones and tablets. YouTube explains this feature, tucked inside the gear icon of a video, will disable any inputs so you don't accidentally stop, rewind, or skip the video you're on.
YouTube is also placing a little attention on its abundance of platform creators by rolling out unique animations based on vocal cues. Whenever a creator asks its viewers to "like" or "subscribe," a colorful animation will gloss over those buttons. Top comments will automatically refresh, rotating new ones in, and a new real-time counter will appear for newly uploaded videos in their first 24 hours.
Watching YouTube on SmartTVs will now offer a vertical pop-up menu for a video's title, description, and comments. The platform sees this as a way of improving the speed of access to certain video interface items. The window can be opened by clicking on a video's title while watching on a TV.
Meanwhile, those on the web and mobile should find a scrollable description box and a "cleaner" design rolling out soon.
It goes without saying that these updates are plentiful, and everything may not be available for everyone all at once. YouTube encourages users to exercise caution as these updates make their rounds "over the coming weeks."
Paradigm Shift
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