In conjunction with its 17th anniversary, YouTube today announced that it is refreshing things by rolling out a new look and feel on the platform. Moreover, the Google-owned company is also introducing new features to enhance the experience on the platform, including the ability to pinch to zoom on videos.
In a blog post, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan shared that the changes were made based on inputs from thousands of viewers around the world. The new design is aimed to be cleaner and more lively which better represents what the company is all about.
One of the changes made to the design is the introduction of ‘ambient mode’ which uses dynamic colour sampling to create a subtle effect so that app background colour adapts to match the video. YouTube further elaborated that this feature will be available on the web and mobile versions of YouTube when in dark theme.
Speaking of which, dark theme has also been updated to be even darker by YouTube. The blog post clarified that this is so that the colour would truly pop on screen and that the feature will be rolling out on web, mobile and Smart TVs.
There are design changes to video playlists too as YouTube will be adopting the same colour treatments as mentioned above. Furthermore, the platform will also show more details about each playlist so viewers can jump right in.
Another change made by YouTube is changing video descriptions to buttons and reformating frequent actions such as like, share and download to minimise distraction. Besides that, the subscribe button is also getting a touch-up with a new shape and high contrast to make it stand out.
As for new features on the platform, YouTube is rolling out pinch to zoom so that you can easily zoom in and out of a video while on iOS or Android. The video will stay zoomed in even if you let go so you can enjoy the rest of the video in greater detail.
Precise seeking is also added to the platform, a new feature that allows you to make fine-tuned adjustments to get the exact part in each video. It’s available on either desktop or mobile and can be activated by simply dragging or swiping up while seeking.
So, what do you guys think of YouTube’s new look and features? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more trending tech news!
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