YouTube has announced over two dozen improvements are heading to the platform, each designed with viewers and creators in mind. These updates include highly requested features like fine-tunable playback speed, allowing for adjustments in 0.05 increments. You’ll also find improved browsing in landscape (coming later this year to iOS users!) with greater responsiveness, larger thumbnails and bigger text. Additionally, visual improvements across YouTube simplify the app, helping users dive into the content without missing a beat.
Multitask with the improved mini-player
Browse YouTube while simultaneously watching a video with the new miniplayer, now enhanced with some modern touches as viewers will be able to resize and move the miniplayer in the YouTube mobile app.
It’s perfect for those who love to search for more videos to add to their queues while already watching a video.
Build, share, and vote on your favourite YouTube playlists
It’s now easier to create that perfect playlist with friends and family. Simply invite others to collaborate using a special link, or — coming soon to TV — use a QR code for easy additions to a playlist.
There’s also a new customization tool to give playlists a personal touch. Users can design their own custom thumbnails for playlists using their own photos or create new ones with generative AI.
To build a custom thumbnail, choose an image from your camera roll, and personalize it with text, filters, or stickers. To generate a thumbnail with AI, tap “Create with AI,” pick a theme, and choose from the AI-powered creations.
These updates are coming across mobile, web, TVs, and YouTube Music.
And later this year, users will be able to vote on videos in playlists, letting you and your friends curate the best line-up. It also allows for further interaction with creators: a creator could use this feature to have their viewers rank their favourite unboxings or reviews.
Set your bedtime with Sleep Timer
A new Sleep Timer is available now which lets users set a timer to automatically pause videos after a certain duration of time. The feature was tested with Premium members earlier this year to rave reviews and it’s now available to all users on YouTube across mobile devices.
Badge Collectables
The team are introducing badges to the YouTube and YouTube Music apps on mobile devices, starting with just a few at launch. These badges celebrate unique-to-YouTubemilestones, such as being one of the first set of paid members of a creator’s channel, or correctly completing quizzes. Users can even earn badges for being a top listener of their favourite artist or having a creator heart your comment.
A fresher, upgraded YouTube on your TV
This update also includes enhancements to the YouTube experience on your TV, making your favourite content shine. These subtle touches give everything a more cinematic feel, so you can settle in and get lost in the action.
When watching Shorts on TV, a new UI offers continued interaction with the content. Whether it’s reading comments or browsing the shop, you can do it all without interrupting the viewing experience.
Immersive channel pages to YouTube on TV. When visiting a creator’s channel, a video will begin playing automatically, giving viewers a teaser of the creator’s content and taking them right into the action.
These updates are a direct result of user feedback, and represent just what makes the platform one of the biggest forms of content delivery on the planet.
