
YouTube is the world's largest video-streaming platform, and it just announced around two-dozen tweaks and updates.
Releasing them to its mobile app, web player and the TV app, a bunch of them small but handy. But some many of these updates are significant, as they can change the overall experience of using YouTube.
In a blog post, YouTube said that:
First and foremost, YouTube is adding more granular control to its playback speed, allowing a more precise scrubbing.
Whereas previous speed adjustment was 0.25 increments, YouTube is now allowing changes to as little as 0.05 increments.
Playback speed is still capped at 2x.
On mobile, the miniplayer is getting upgraded.
With the change, users are able to resize and move it around the screen. This addition should allow YouTube users to multitask like never before.
So instead of a second bar above the bottom bar with a tight rectangular crop, play/pause, and an close button, the redesigned miniplayer is more like a picture-in-picture window.
With it, users can, for example, watch videos while browsing the web at the same time. It's also useful for users who wish to add videos to their queue without having to stop what they're watching.
YouTube is also giving playlists a makeover.
With a co-op feature, YouTube is allowing users to share a QR code or link, inviting friends and family to collaborate on playlists. Later, YouTube plans to allow users to also vote on the best lineup together. Not to mention, YouTube is also planning to give users the ability create custom thumbnails for their playlists.
"Playlists are better when they’re built together, so we’re making it easier to create that perfect playlist with friends and family. Simply invite others to collaborate using a special link, or — coming soon to TV — use a QR code for easy additions to a playlist," said YouTube.
"We’re also introducing new customization tools to give playlists a personal touch. Users can design their own custom thumbnails for playlists using their own photos or create new ones with generative AI."

Then, there is what YouTube calls the 'Sleep Timer' feature.
"We’ve all been there — you decide to watch a few YouTube videos before going to sleep, and all of a sudden you’re dozing off," said YouTube.
Here, the Sleep Timer feature allows users to set a timer to automatically pause after a certain duration of time, if it detects no interaction at all. YouTube Premium users have already enjoyed a similar feature, and this time, YouTube is making it available to all users of its app on mobile devices.
But here, the increments are: 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 minutes, 1 hour, and end of video.
And among others, YouTube is also introducing badges.
"What makes YouTube special is the sense of community that creators foster with their viewers. And we’ve heard from viewers that they want more ways to display their support and, of course, flex those bragging rights," said YouTube.
"We’re bringing badges to the YouTube and YouTube Music apps on mobile devices."
For starters, YouTube is only introducing two badges called “first batch of paid members" and "correctly completed a quiz."
YouTube typically launches its product updates each October, allowing plenty of time to ensure everything runs smoothly ahead of the busy holiday season, when ad impressions are at their peak.