youtube features – TheNewsHub

YouTube Reportedly Rolling Out Redesigned Playback Speed Feature for Android, iOS Users

Ashish Singh — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:06:15 +0000

YouTube announced several new and updated features in October. Among them were a new sleep timer, a resizable miniplayer, and some visual improvements. The Alphabet-owned video streaming platform has now reportedly started rolling out a redesigned version of the playback speed box. This is said to allow users to control the playback speed more intricately. This feature was teased by the company previously. A report claims that it is now coming to Android and iOS users. It is expected to be available to all users globally soon.

YouTube Playback Speed Feature Redesign

According to a 9to5Google report, YouTube is rolling out a redesigned version of the playback speed feature. The report adds that the feature is available for YouTube version 19.43 on Android and 19.44 on iOS. With the updated version, if users go to Settings > Playback Speed, a rectangular pop-up box appears at the bottom of the screen.

Within the box, a row of five preset speed options are shown as pill-shaped buttons — 0.25, 1.0 (Normal), 1.25, 1.5, and 2.0. Besides these, the box shows an adjustable slider. It allows users to fine-tune playback speed in 0.5 increments. The selected speed is shown above the slider, and adjustments can be made by dragging the slider or by tapping the plus and minus buttons on either side of the slider.

Previously, the Playback Speed menu opened in a long pop-up box that covered almost half of the lower half of the screen. The layout resembled the design now used for the sleep timer feature. Users were offered only specific preset speed options (0.25x, 0.5x, 0.75x, Normal, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, and 2x) to choose from.

Notably, YouTube mentioned the “fine-tunable playback speed” feature in a blog post in October this year where it announced that it will start rolling out about two dozen updates across web, mobile, TVs, and YouTube Music apps.

YouTube Reportedly Rolling Out Redesigned Playback Speed Feature for Android, iOS Users

Ashish Singh — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:06:15 +0000

YouTube Playback Speed Feature Redesign

YouTube Reportedly Testing New Homepage With No View Count, Upload Date; Company Responds

Ashish Singh — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:00:17 +0000

YouTube is reportedly testing a new homepage without view count and upload date information. When the claim surfaced online, users expressed their dissatisfaction with the alleged update. Some appreciated the removal of the view count alongside the thumbnails but most people claimed that removing the upload date information would be a disservice, especially in terms of news updates. YouTube has not directly refuted the claims but said they will investigate the matter if needed and that third-party browser extensions could be responsible.

YouTube Testing New Homepage

According to an X post by user vidIQ (@vidIQ), YouTube is testing a new homepage layout without any view count and upload date information. The videos on the homepage appear with only the channel name and title of the video alongside the thumbnail image.

In the comments section of the X post, most users claimed that the reported removal of view count will likely not alter their consumption habits or experience much and some said it may help up-and-coming creators on YouTube get more views, since sometimes people tend to not click on videos with lower view count.

Most complaints were about the alleged removal of the upload date information. If this claim is true, some users believe it will impact content consumption on YouTube, since details regarding any topic changes over time. It is most likely to affect political and other news coverage or any content around current issues.

YouTube’s Response

The Alphabet-owned video streaming platform has responded to these claims. The company has not yet outrightly refuted the reports that a new homepage without the abovementioned features are being tested. In an X post, YouTube has clarified that some users may be unable to see the view count and upload date information on their homepage if “certain browser extensions” are enabled.

YouTube added that if viewers continue to not see these information on their homepage despite no external browser extension interventions, submit a report to the company. YouTube will then investigate the matter.

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YouTube Update Brings Sleep Timer, Resizable Miniplayer And More Features

Ashish Singh — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 05:43:07 +0000

YouTube is being upgraded with several features that introduce new features on the video streaming platform, while improving existing capabilities. The Alphabet-owned company is rolling out “over two dozen” updates — including a new sleep timer, a resizable miniplayer, and the ability to fine-tune playback speed. Most of these features will be available on the web interface, the YouTube mobile and TV apps, and YouTube Music. Other features expected to arrive later this year include the ability to vote on videos in playlists.

YouTube Gets Sleep Timer, Resizable Miniplayer

One of the most notable changes coming to YouTube is a new sleep timer that will allow users to automatically set YouTube to stop video playback. This feature was previously available to Premium users and will finally be rolled out to all users. It will come in handy for users who tend to fall asleep while watching videos, only to wake up to a depleted battery — YouTube keeps the device’s screen on while playing videos, and the autoplay feature can keep the phone running for a while.

The miniplayer for videos on YouTube has also been updated, and users can now resize it or move it around the screen. The mobile video player was located at the bottom right corner of the screen, and the latest update brings the ability to relocate it to all four corners while browsing the app for more videos.

Improvements Coming to YouTube App on TV

The YouTube app for smart TVs is getting a fresh coat of paint, with improvements to the user interface for a “more cinematic feel”, according to the company. While browsing a channel, YouTube will automatically play a snippet of content from that creator, via the recently introduced immersive channel pages.

The YouTube app on TV will make use of the available space while playing Shorts
Photo Credit: YouTube

Meanwhile, the video player for YouTube Shorts has been updated on TV, allowing users to see comments or view shop content, while watching vertical videos on the platform. These appear on the right side of the centre-aligned player and YouTube says that they won’t negatively impact the viewing experience.

YouTube Collaboration Enhancements, Creator Badges

Collaborative playlists will soon become easier to set up, with the ability to send a unique link to other users. An upcoming update to the YouTube app on TV will introduce a new QR code feature that allows users to quickly join and collaborate on playlists. In the coming months, YouTube will also allow users to “vote” on videos in a playlist to push preferred videos to the top of a playlist — these voting icons seem to be inspired by the ones on Reddit.

YouTube will soon allow users to collect “badges” when they complete quizzes or become one of the first paid members of a creator’s channel, according to the company. Similarly, YouTube Music users will get badges when a creator likes their comment, or when they become an artist’s top listener. These badges are expected to roll out to users over the “next several weeks”.