YouTube Improves Video Player and Adds New Gestures on Android and iOS
Oct. 27, 2020YouTubeis rolling out a new update for its mobile app that brings a whole bunch of new features and improvements. The new features include a list view for video chapters, suggested actions, and more.
Although YouTube originallyintroduced video chaptersin May, the company isimproving the experience by adding a list view. Through this list view, you can simply tap on the chapter title in the player to quickly switch to it. In addition, the entire list of chapters is neatly represented along with thumbnail previews in this new view.Image: YouTube
YouTube isbringing the captions button right to the primary video player interfacewith this update. According to the company, this move is to make captions more accessible. The autoplay toggle is also getting a prominent spot, right in the middle of the video player UI.Image: YouTube
YouTube is making it easier to switch to full-screen mode with its new gesture. You canswipe up on the video interface to enter full-screen mode. Similarly, swiping down will help you exit full-screen mode. Another minor change is the ability to switch to count down mode when you tap on the timestamp in the player.Image: YouTube
With the new suggested actions,YouTube will automatically prompt you to rotate your phone, say when you’re watching a landscape video on portrait mode, or switch to VR mode whenever necessary. While some might argue this is quite redundant, it will be convenient for a lot of users and is certainly a nifty addition in my opinion.Image: YouTube
Apart from all these new changes, YouTube is also reminding users of its recently-addedbedtime remindersdigital wellbeing feature that helps you schedule reminders to stop watching videos and get some much-needed sleep.
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Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.
