We wondered if it was time to give YouTube a small facelift, given that it had just turned 17 this year. As a result, YouTube collected feedback from tens of thousands of viewers around the world and discovered that there was a demand for a simpler, more lively design that more effectively portrayed what YouTube is all about. YouTube is unveiling a new design and numerous features that will improve the way people watch videos while also giving a more current and immersive viewing experience. But don’t panic; YouTube is still basically the same YouTube that you know and love.
The application of colour
YouTube’s main focus was on colour throughout the development process. YouTube hopes to make apps more interactive without interfering with users’ routines, such as watching recommended videos or looking for new content. The ambient mode was created after experimenting with numerous approaches. And we knew we were onto something when user testing of the first design concept yielded overwhelmingly positive results.
The ambient mode adds a subtle touch by using dynamic colour mixing to adjust the app’s background colour to match the video. To attract users and make the movie more visible on YouTube’s watch page, YouTube intended to imitate the appearance of light that screens cast out in a dark place. A dark theme will be supported by both the internet and mobile versions of this function.
While we’re on the subject of YouTube, we’re pleased to inform you that the dark theme has been enhanced to be even darker, allowing the colours to shine out on your screen. After getting your feedback, YouTube took action. It will be available on the web, mobile devices, and smart televisions. If you take delight in crafting the perfect playlist, YouTube hasn’t forgotten about you! Video playlists will now utilise the same colour scheme and offer additional information about each playlist to make it easier for viewers to get started.
It all starts with the video
We understand that you come to YouTube primarily to watch your favourite content. YouTube is implementing changes to draw attention back to the video player. Links in YouTube video descriptions will now be converted to buttons, and frequent actions such as “like,” “share,” and “download” have been redesigned to reduce distraction. These modifications have made the watch page much easier to read. The subscribe button has also been updated: the new form and high contrast make it genuinely stand out, and while it is no longer red, it is simpler to find and much more accessible to everyone on both watch pages and channel pages.
And YouTube is about more than just appearances. After introducing and testing many new features on youtube.com/new earlier this year, many of you wondered when YouTube will make certain new product features more generally available. Pinch to zoom allows you to easily zoom in and out of a video while using your iOS or Android phone. After you release the film, it remains zoomed in, allowing you to see the rest of it in more detail. Take a moment to relax your fingers! Have you ever watched a class on your phone and had to go back and watch it again to learn that one small step? This problem can be solved with careful searching.
Simply drag or swipe up while trying to display a row of thumbnails on a desktop or mobile video player, and you’ll be able to make precise changes to go to the exact spot in each movie. Targeted search builds on previous enhancements to YouTube’s video navigation that make it easier to rapidly access the bits of the video that are most interesting to you. Long-pressing on any area of the video to search and double-tapping to skip chapters is now possible on YouTube. On YouTube, a graph that depicts frequently replayed video chunks has also been added. When contemplating how to improve our services for our customers, the YouTube team has always prioritized user feedback, and today’s modifications were no exception. Take a peek at the new design and let YouTube know what you think before the changes are sent out to all users gradually over the following few weeks.
