YouTube Rolls Out New Features
It’s hard to believe, but YouTube just celebrated its 17th anniversary. To celebrate the website’s ability to watch R-rated movies, YouTube will roll out a set of new features and changes to all users in the coming weeks . Here’s what you can expect when the new YouTube arrives on your devices.
One of the first changes you may notice is the environment mode. This new feature adds color to the YouTube video watch page based on the colors of what you’re watching, inspired by the way light from a screen reflects in a dark room. It’s a subtle but neat effect that refreshes the YouTube binge we’ve been in for nearly two decades.
Please note that you need to use YouTube in dark mode for Ambient mode to activate. On mobile, you’ll find this option by tapping your profile icon and going to Settings > General > Appearance . On the desktop, click your profile icon, then select Appearance .
If you don’t like Ambient Mode, you can turn it off without disabling Dark Mode entirely. Go to Settings > Ambient Mode and turn off the switch next to Ambient Mode. Speaking of dark mode, YouTube has made it even darker. Ambient mode also applies to playlists, so you’ll see dynamic video previews inside the list.
Another change you’ll probably notice right away is in the YouTube player. The company has overhauled many of the elements you frequently interact with: video links in descriptions are now buttons; “Like”, “Share” and “Download” buttons now look minimalistic; and the subscribe button is no longer red but high contrast to encourage viewers to subscribe.
Now you can also zoom video on iOS or Android using pinch. Whenever you take your fingers off the screen, the video remains locked in the position you left it in. In addition, there is “exact search”: drag or swipe up on the display to display thumbnails for different parts of the video, allowing you to skip ahead or back to a specific point.
According to YouTube, these features will be gradually rolled out to all users over the next few weeks. This means that you may see them soon, or they may take some time to get into your account. However, if you’re just itching to try out new YouTube features, there’s always youtube.com/new . YouTube Premium subscribers can use this site to enable experimental features that the company is currently testing. If you’re paying for YouTube, consider checking out any new features the company has to offer.
[ CNN ]