YouTube is reportedly testing two new features on the platform. The new games and UI changes to the video streaming platform will reportedly improve the video consumption life of users on the platform.
YouTube Testing Two New Features
Even as YouTube continues to crack down on third-party apps on the platform and also continues to raise the prices of premium features and tools, the video streaming and hosting site has been making a whole lot of changes in a bid to improve user experience on the platform altogether.
Two more such changes are being tested out on the platform right about now. The two features include adding playable games as well as updating its sharing menu for desktop and mobile. For the former in question, YouTube is reportedly adding a ‘Playables’ section to the site, with 9to5Google recently reporting that one of the games being reported will be Stack Bounce. And for the time being, it’s only coming to certain users on the platform, so you should make sure to search for ‘Playables’ in the content section in order to see if it is that you are one of the lucky few.
The latter development involves YouTube updating its sharing menu, reportedly moving it from a bottom-positioned share sheet down to a floating option. And as per Android Police, when your device is in landscape orientation, the floating bar in question is in the middle, while it gets to remain at the bottom in portrait mode. This is a quality-of-life change that really improves navigation for many users on the platform, though currently, it is just available to a handful of users.
UI Changes to YouTube’s Mobile and Desktop Versions
There are many other UI changes as well as features being added to mobile and desktop versions of YouTube. For example, in July 2023 three features were reportedly added, and this is including a faster way to double playback speed on the platform, a Lock Screen for disabling all “touch input while watching a [full screen] video,” and lastly, a bigger thumbnail previews.
Other Features in the Works
YouTube has also revealed a couple of other features in the works that all revolve around improving YouTube Music, whether it is quality of life changes or changes to the service that will have a noticeable impact on the music industry itself. Live lyrics, for example, scroll lyrics for users as a song progresses in a bid to make it easier to understand and to sing along to, and there is even a search function that allows users to hum to find their favorite song.
YouTube Partnering With Music Industry Professionals
The biggest news by far from the company, though, is that YouTube’s Music AI Incubator, which will be partnering with music industry professionals to make sure that artists and rights holders are properly compensated for AI music. This in question would potentially enable the site to keep its AI cash cow without getting to infringe on the intellectual properties of artists.
YouTube Making Bad Moves
However, there are many unpopular changes as well on the platform such as the aforementioned crackdown on third-party apps and YouTube Premium prices reportedly going up. There is also the divisive Shorts, which for many users is both popular but at the moment very hard to monetize, as well as the implementation of a ‘three-strikes’ policy against ad blockers on the platform.
With all of these changes in question to YouTube, it will be very interesting to see just how the site looks and functions even five years from now.
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