What you need to know
- YouTube has launched a new experiment for the service.
- The latest experiment allows you to pinch to zoom in on specific parts of a video.
- It is currently available only to Premium subscribers for a limited time.
YouTube Premium subscribers are always the first set of users to experience trial features that the service is toying with every now and then. The latest one to hit YouTube's lab is a new capability that lets you pinch to zoom in on a specific part of a video.
If you're subscribed to the service's Premium version, you should see a new experiment available as one of your perks. First spotted by Android Police, the new feature allows you to zoom in and out of the video player by pinching it with two fingers.
Currently, pinching on a video only stretches it to fill the entire screen of your Android phone or iPhone, and that's all you can do. Assuming the latest experiment makes it to a public release, it'll address one of the platform's shortcomings when it comes to this type of control.
We tried the feature on one of our devices, but we're having no luck getting it to work at the moment. After pinching to zoom, you'll presumably be able to pan across to any part of the video you want to see in a larger view.
Like all sorts of experiments, this one isn't going to last forever, though. YouTube will conclude the trial feature on September 1, after which the fate of pinch-to-zoom will depend on how many Premium subscribers used it and how well it was received by early testers.
Premium subscribers can try out the feature starting today and submit feedback to Google. Your feedback may spell the future of this capability, which honestly looks like a useful addition to the platform.
