YouTube Live Streaming Will Soon Become Much More Mobile-Friendly
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Among competitors like Twitch and even Instagram, YouTube may not be the leader in live streaming, but its new features are doing their best to change that. As announced at Google’s Made on YouTube event today, the platform will soon allow streamers to live stream with simultaneous horizontal and vertical broadcasts, as well as use artificial intelligence for automatic cropping. Oh, and there are new corporate cross-promotions, too.
Horizontal and vertical broadcast simultaneously
The feature is currently in testing and should be rolling out more widely “in the coming months.” YouTube’s combined support for horizontal and vertical streaming is perhaps the most exciting news for me. I usually watch streams in the background, and I find it much more convenient to do so on a second monitor than on my phone. But with the rise of sites like TikTok, many streamers are abandoning more traditional platforms, meaning I’m likely to miss out on content unless I’m looking for vertical streams on mobile.
YouTube will now allow creators to simultaneously publish both horizontal versions of their broadcasts, designed for larger screens, and vertical versions, designed for smaller ones. This means that users will have less incentive to stick to a mobile-only platform to try to ride the new trend, and users on all devices will be able to watch broadcasts the way they want. Regardless of whether you watch a horizontal or vertical broadcast, you’ll be redirected to a chat with everyone, and the streamer won’t have to split view counts across different uploads. The vertical broadcast will simply be cropped or letterboxed as usual, depending on the content. It seems like the perfect solution, and I’m looking forward to more creators trying it out once it’s available to them — finally, at least on YouTube, I won’t have to worry about missing out on a favorite creator’s broadcast by not watching it on my phone.
The best moments of the broadcast, created by AI
Meanwhile, when it comes to watching live streams, YouTube is making it a little easier for creators to curate highlights from their streams. Personally, while I have my favorite creators, I admit I don’t have time to watch all of their content, and often just sift through clips in my spare time. Unfortunately, not everything gets cut out, as it requires manual labor — which is why you’ll sometimes see creators asking their fans to “cut it out” after a memorable moment. Now, YouTube is adding a bit of automation. Starting “in the next few weeks,” you’ll be able to have AI sort through your live streams to automatically find highlights and turn them into short YouTube videos that you can review before uploading. In some corners of the internet, it’s become expected that stream clips are uploaded through unofficial channels, as it currently requires some manual labor. While I’ve seen streamers express gratitude to their fans for doing this, I’m also concerned that by browsing these resources, I’m not supporting the content creators themselves enough. Hopefully the new tool will make it easier to view clips directly from the creators themselves.
Live reaction and broadcast of “Playable Materials”
Finally, there are two additional features that will make it much easier to promote content on YouTube. The first is “React Live,” which will let you start a vertical live stream with the content you’re watching on the top half and your own channel on the bottom. This will make it easier for streamers to create reactions without having to make videos themselves, but the feature will only work with events and creators who allow reactions to their content. However, if you want to watch tech talks alongside your favorite commentators, this should allow creators to start them without having to license the stream first, as long as the company behind the talk allows reaction streamers. YouTube expects to begin testing the feature “early next year.”
The second benefit is the ability to stream Playables browser games to YouTube with the click of a button, again without having to record your gameplay. Having played many of them, I personally find that the quality is not consistent across the board, but this should be a good way to get started streaming without having to worry about technology or recording software. There are a few notable games on the list, including Angry Birds Showdown and Cut the Rope . YouTube says the feature will be available to select creators next month, with a wider rollout expected later this year.
Why is this important?
Personally, I’m glad that YouTube is removing some of the barriers to streaming, making it easier to find content that resonates while also reaching different audiences. In particular, the new updates seem designed to help the site bridge the gap between desktop and mobile without losing its existing audience. It’s ironic, considering one of YouTube’s biggest competitors just made it harder to stream on mobile.
To broadcast on Instagram , you now need to have a public account and at least 1,000 followers, just like a month ago. This will likely reduce the load on Instagram’s servers, but it will also weed out new talent. YouTube is quickly catching up to Meta, and may soon swallow it up. Will other streaming services follow suit?