YouTube, is the video streaming giant from Google. With more than 2 billion users, it has that many reasons to continuously improve.
And because during the 'COVID-19' coronavirus pandemic that forced many people to remain indoors, YouTube is having yet another reason to "always looking for ways to make it easier to watch and interact with your favorite videos."
In a blog post, YouTube announced some updates it is delivering to make viewing experience better.
For example, there is the Video Chapters feature, a more streamlined page, gesture feature and more.
Here are the features YouTube announced in details.
Video Chapters
This feature allows users to better navigate videos, by allowing them to instantly jump forward to a specific section inside videos. With this feature, users can also re-watch a portion of the video, and more.
"Today, we’re extending this feature to include a new list view that you can find by tapping or clicking the chapter title in the player. You’ll be able to see a complete list of all chapters included in the video you’re watching, each with a preview thumbnail of what you’ll find in that chapter," said YouTube.
Streamlined Player
Previously, the caption toggle on the YouTube app was located below the video.
In order to make it more prominent and more accessible, YouTube has moved it directly on the video player.
"We also have moved the autoplay toggle to make it easier to turn on or off while you’re watching. You’ll also notice small improvements to the player, like re-arranged buttons that simplify its look and snappier controls that make any action you take even faster."
Using Gestures
YouTube has long introduced a way for users to rewind or fast-forward videos by 10 seconds by double tapping. In an update, YouTube is making it easier to enter and exit full screen mode.
To do this, users simply needs to swipe up to enter full screen, and swipe down to exit the full screen.
And to see the countdown time of the video, or the elapsed time, users can simply tap on the timestamp to toggle.
Suggested Actions
Knowing that content creators are actively uploading videos in virtual reality (VR), YouTube is updating to start suggesting users to play a video in VR if available. The Suggested Action feature can also suggest users to rotate their phone "when we think you can have a better experience."
Bedtime Reminders
It was back in 2019 that Google started wanting users to use their phone less. This time, YouTube is adding a new digital wellbeing tool that lets users set reminders at specific times to stop watching videos and go to bed.
This feature "joins our suite of features to help you manage your time on YouTube," said YouTube.
The series of updates may not matter much for most users. But experience-wise, they should make YouTube better.
According to Mindshare India and online video intelligence and analytics platform Vidooly, YouTube garnered over 300 billion views in the first quarter of this 2020. This is 13% more than the fourth quarter of 2018, and 11% more than the first quarter in 2019.
Considering the huge number of users YouTube is already having, that percentage increase is indeed a lot.
To appeal those users, it's a very welcome move for YouTube to improve users' experience on the platform. And the five updates YouTube announced, can certainly make YouTube a better platform in overall.
Further reading: Facebook, Netflix And YouTube Struggle To Keep Up With The Coronavirus Pandemic 'Side Effects'