YouTube is rolling out over two dozen new features and improvements across web, mobile, TVs, and YouTube Music, designed to enhance the experience for both viewers and creators.
Fine-Tunable Playback Speed
- Playback Speed Adjustments: Users can now adjust playback speed in 0.05 increments for more precise control.
Improved Browsing
- Landscape Mode: Enhanced responsiveness, larger thumbnails, and bigger text for iOS users.
- Visual Improvements: Simplified app design for easier content navigation.
Enhanced Miniplayer
- Miniplayer Features: Users can resize and move the miniplayer in the mobile app, allowing for multitasking while watching videos.
Collaborative Playlists
- Playlist Collaboration: Users can invite others to collaborate on playlists via a special link or QR code.
- Customization Tools: Custom thumbnails can be created using personal photos or generative AI.
- Voting on Videos: Later this year, users will be able to vote on videos in playlists, enhancing interaction with creators.
Sleep Timer
- Sleep Timer: Users can set a timer to automatically pause videos, a feature previously tested with Premium members.
Badges for Achievements
- Badges: New badges celebrate milestones like being a top listener or an early paid member of a creator’s channel. These can be viewed in the “You” tab.
YouTube on TV
- Cinematic Enhancements: Visual updates to give a more cinematic feel.
- Shorts Interaction: New UI for Shorts on TV allows for continued interaction without interrupting the viewing experience.
- Immersive Channel Pages: Auto-playing videos on channel pages to give viewers a teaser of the creator’s content.
These updates are a direct response to user feedback and aim to provide greater control, richer personalization, and useful features to enhance the YouTube experience.
