YouTube begins planned evolutions of iPhone & iPad app, desktop site

Posted:
in iPhone edited August 2017
Google's YouTube on Tuesday began rolling out a series of planned changes to its mobile and desktop interfaces, including new aesthetics and several feature upgrades.




The iPhone and iPad app now sports a white header, which also showcases the company's redesigned logo. More practically, users can adjust video playback speed by tapping the triple-dot menu.




Further improvements are due on iOS and Android in the coming months, Google said, such as an experimental option that will let people skip between videos by swiping their hand left or right. The player itself will eventually adapt to the aspect ratio of each video, even vertical ones, while the area below will offer new ways to browse clips.

People worldwide should be seeing a redesigned youtube.com, which applies Google's Material Design concepts and an optional, oft-demanded dark theme.

Still missing in action is a native YouTube TV client for the fourth-generation Apple TV. At the moment, Apple TV support is limited to AirPlay -- the service is on relatively few platforms overall though, including iOS, Android, Chrome, and Chromecast.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    Roger_FingasRoger_Fingas Posts: 148member, editor
    I only use a web browser for YouTube so I can run ad block.  I can't imagine using the app.
    It's fine, for the most part. Most ads can be skipped within seconds if and when they do appear. Admittedly, my own iPhone use is mostly as a remote for pushing to streaming devices.
  • Reply 2 of 25
    The only thing that still bugs me - unless I've missed it or it's forthcoming - is that you cannot "close" the YouTube app and have the video miniaturize down as a floating window to continue playing.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    material design UI is unintuitive and hideous, youtube app feels completely out of place with rest of iOS experience (i guess this is mostly intentional; that said, this should detract anyone who gives a damn about a nice mobile experience of considering a switch to android)
    watto_cobraGRibeiro
  • Reply 4 of 25
    peterhart said:
    The only thing that still bugs me - unless I've missed it or it's forthcoming - is that you cannot "close" the YouTube app and have the video miniaturize down as a floating window to continue playing.
    That is because you are supposed to pay for YT Red to get that feature.
    tallest skildoozydozenGRibeiro
  • Reply 5 of 25
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,086member
    peterhart said:
    The only thing that still bugs me - unless I've missed it or it's forthcoming - is that you cannot "close" the YouTube app and have the video miniaturize down as a floating window to continue playing.
    Google now charges for this - you have to subscribe to get background audio. Lame. 
    watto_cobraGRibeiro
  • Reply 6 of 25
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,452member
    peterhart said:
    The only thing that still bugs me - unless I've missed it or it's forthcoming - is that you cannot "close" the YouTube app and have the video miniaturize down as a floating window to continue playing.
    That is because you are supposed to pay for YT Red to get that feature.
    Still cracks me up that nobody in marketing saw a problem with that name.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 25
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,111member
    - Does it support Picture in Picture?
    - Can I listen to YouTube while I put my device to sleep?
    - Can I block ads?
    - Can I turn off autoplay on playlists?

    Seriously, some of these features are so behind schedule they're almost ½ decade old. At least Google finally got around to updating Google Earth after about, what, 10 years?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 25
    Turo_SanserenaiTuro_Sanserenai Posts: 2unconfirmed, member
    I wonder if they should spend less effort trying to police and censor videos they deem wrong-think and focus on developing updates more frequently for their users.
    tallest skilentropysdoozydozenwatto_cobramobird
  • Reply 9 of 25
    peterhart said:
    The only thing that still bugs me - unless I've missed it or it's forthcoming - is that you cannot "close" the YouTube app and have the video miniaturize down as a floating window to continue playing.
    I haven't been able to either. Comcast's streaming app -- superbly implemented, btw, especially on the iPad -- allows for this. Soon, YouTube will be available on Comcast, so I am hoping to be able to do it within that app. 
  • Reply 10 of 25

    tyler82 said:
    - Does it support Picture in Picture?
    - Can I listen to YouTube while I put my device to sleep?
    - Can I block ads?
    - Can I turn off autoplay on playlists?

    Seriously, some of these features are so behind schedule they're almost ½ decade old. At least Google finally got around to updating Google Earth after about, what, 10 years?
    With which apps can you do all of this? On which device?
  • Reply 11 of 25
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,057member
    tyler82 said:
    - Does it support Picture in Picture?
    - Can I listen to YouTube while I put my device to sleep?
    - Can I block ads?
    - Can I turn off autoplay on playlists?

    Seriously, some of these features are so behind schedule they're almost ½ decade old. At least Google finally got around to updating Google Earth after about, what, 10 years?
    You gotta pay for those "features" with YouTube Red, as others have stated.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 25
    That is because you are supposed to pay for YT Red to get that feature.
    Still cracks me up that nobody in marketing saw a problem with that name.
    Because of the 180º different business strategy and false association with PRODUCT(red)?
    tyler82 said:
    - Can I turn off autoplay on playlists?
    For crying out loud, that’d be great. Or if nothing else, being able to flip the order of videos around so that you’re not being forced to play them in reverse...
    doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 25
    I have never used the YouTube app.  It seems a little silly to me to download an app when I can just go to the website. Serious question: am I missing something?

    Admittedly, I use YouTube infrequently, so my experience may not be typical.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 25
    mobiusmobius Posts: 380member
    JinTech said:
    tyler82 said:
    - Does it support Picture in Picture?
    - Can I listen to YouTube while I put my device to sleep?
    - Can I block ads?
    - Can I turn off autoplay on playlists?

    Seriously, some of these features are so behind schedule they're almost ½ decade old. At least Google finally got around to updating Google Earth after about, what, 10 years?
    You gotta pay for those "features" with YouTube Red, as others have stated.
    Not completely true. The following allows you to play YT videos in the background while the device is locked or while using other (non-audio/non-video) apps:
    1. Download a 3rd party browser such as Opera Mini (other 3rd party browsers may also work)
    2. Go to Youtube in Opera Mini
    3. A message appears saying the browser is no longer supported; ignore the message and continue.
    4. Search for a video and press play.
    5. Either lock the screen or go to the iOS home screen.
    6. (Wake phone) Swipe up to to access music controls in the Control Panel.
    7. Press play (you may have to stop and restart to get it working)
    8. The video/audio should now play in the background and you can lock the phone or do other things on the phone.

    Tested on iPhone 6s iOS 10.3.3

    NB I have not tested this with ads - you may need to wait for ad to finish/skip it before you try the above method.


    Of course, this method could break at any time as apps update and we move towards iOS 11.
    edited August 2017
  • Reply 15 of 25
    tyler82 said:

    Seriously, some of these features are so behind schedule they're almost ½ decade old. At least Google finally got around to updating Google Earth after about, what, 10 years?
    They had to upgrade it to 64 bit or it may not have gotten updating when it did...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 25
    GRibeiroGRibeiro Posts: 4unconfirmed, member
    tyler82 said:
    - Does it support Picture in Picture?
    - Can I listen to YouTube while I put my device to sleep?
    - Can I block ads?
    - Can I turn off autoplay on playlists?

    Seriously, some of these features are so behind schedule they're almost ½ decade old. At least Google finally got around to updating Google Earth after about, what, 10 years?
    You can, you just have to pay for YouTube Red
  • Reply 17 of 25
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,628member
    GRibeiro said:
    tyler82 said:
    - Does it support Picture in Picture?
    - Can I listen to YouTube while I put my device to sleep?
    - Can I block ads?
    - Can I turn off autoplay on playlists?

    Seriously, some of these features are so behind schedule they're almost ½ decade old. At least Google finally got around to updating Google Earth after about, what, 10 years?
    You can, you just have to pay for YouTube Red
    Bonus: those that repeatedly proclaim ads to be the bane of society have a way of avoiding them in Youtube: Pay for it with actual cash rather than demanding it be free with all the additional features. That is what you wanted, right? 
  • Reply 18 of 25
    gatorguy said:
    Bonus: those that repeatedly proclaim ads to be the bane of society have a way of avoiding them in Youtube: Pay for it with actual cash rather than demanding it be free with all the additional features. That is what you wanted, right? 
    Or just use AdNauseum, which Google seems far more terrified of than a regular adblocker.
  • Reply 19 of 25
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,628member
    gatorguy said:
    Bonus: those that repeatedly proclaim ads to be the bane of society have a way of avoiding them in Youtube: Pay for it with actual cash rather than demanding it be free with all the additional features. That is what you wanted, right? 
    Or just use AdNauseum, which Google seems far more terrified of than a regular adblocker.
    ...but still not get the additional useful features that come with a YouTube Red subscription. 
    edited August 2017
  • Reply 20 of 25
    There Youtube app has always ran good for me on my iPhone 7 Plus. Only other platform that I know it runs good on is the Roku 3 series. 
    edited August 2017
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