YouTube has announced a series of new features designed to enhance the user experience across web, mobile, TV, and YouTube Music. The update introduces over two dozen improvements, including an upgraded miniplayer, collaborative playlist creation, custom thumbnails, and more, aimed at benefiting both viewers and creators.
One of the most exciting features is the improved miniplayer, allowing users to multitask more efficiently. The updated miniplayer can now be resized and moved around within the YouTube mobile app, enabling users to browse, search, or explore content while watching videos at the same time.
“You’ll have greater control over your experience,” said Matthew Darby, Director of Product Management at YouTube. This enhancement aims to make navigation more fluid, allowing users to seamlessly transition between content discovery and video viewing.
Creating and sharing playlists just got more interactive with YouTube’s new collaborative playlist feature. Now, users can invite friends and family to contribute to playlists via a special link or QR code. The feature will also be available on YouTube TV soon, making it easier to co-create playlists on larger screens. The addition of collaboration promotes teamwork, whether you’re curating party tracks with friends or building a collection of educational content.
Personalizing playlists is another highlight of this update. YouTube is giving users the ability to design custom thumbnails for their playlists. Users can upload personal photos or even use generative AI to create unique images that match their playlists’ themes.
From selecting an image from your camera roll to adding text, filters, or stickers, users now have full control over the appearance of their playlists. The AI feature allows users to choose a theme and automatically generate visuals, making the process simple yet creative.
To promote better viewing habits, YouTube is introducing a Sleep Timer that allows users to set a timer to automatically pause videos after a specified duration. Originally tested with YouTube Premium members, this feature is now available to all mobile users. This function helps manage late-night binge-watching, ensuring that users can maintain healthier viewing routines.
YouTube is also enhancing community interaction with the introduction of community badges. Available on both YouTube and YouTube Music, these badges recognize unique milestones, such as being an early paid subscriber to a creator’s channel or a top listener of an artist. These badges will be displayed in the ‘You’ tab, adding a fun and personalized touch to user profiles, while encouraging greater participation in communities.
The update includes significant improvements for the YouTube app on TVs. YouTube is rolling out a more cinematic experience with visual enhancements, including new UI features that allow users to watch Shorts, browse the shop, and read comments, all without interrupting the video they’re watching.
Additionally, channel pages will now automatically play videos when users visit, offering a quick glimpse of the creator’s content and providing a more immersive browsing experience.
These new YouTube features are rolling out starting 15th October 2024 and will be available across web, mobile, TV, and YouTube Music in the coming weeks.
