YouTube platform currently has over 2 billion users from around the world, thanks to the features it offers that make it the best video streaming service ever. Whether you’re looking for educational videos, entertainment clips, or keeping up with daily news, you’ll find it on YouTube. The YouTube app is known to be constantly updated and new features are added to it. During October, YouTube introduced some new features that will help improve your viewing experience, and here are these features:
Adding Chapters for Easier Video Navigation
The Video Chapter feature is a great addition that YouTube introduced in its latest update. This feature allows video creators to divide the video into chapters, making it easier for viewers to navigate to the desired part of the video without having to scroll. For example, if there is a news video covering political and economic news, you can watch only the news you’re interested in by navigating to that specific part. This significantly enhances the viewing experience.
This feature may not be available for all videos, as not all videos require it. It needs to be added by the video creator to be visible to users. However, it remains a very powerful and useful feature, especially for educational videos where it helps students divide the video into parts and understand each part individually before moving on to the next.
Displaying Translation and Description Button on Videos
The translation and description feature is very important for many users, especially when you need to listen to a video in a language you’re not proficient in. In this case, the translation and description feature is very useful for better understanding the video content. This feature has been available in the YouTube app for a long time, but now the translation and description button (CC) is available at the top right or left of the screen while watching a video. This allows you to easily enable or disable it. However, to change the language, you need to access the options menu by clicking on the three dots. This feature was available in the web version for desktop but has now been added to the YouTube app on smartphones as well.
In addition to the translation and description button, YouTube has also added the autoplay button at the top of the video for easy playback control. However, this feature is available only on the smartphone app and has not been added to the desktop version yet, but it is expected to be added later as it is still in testing.
New Gestures for Video Playback
YouTube users on smartphones are accustomed to clicking the fullscreen icon at the bottom right of the video to view it in fullscreen mode and clicking it again to exit. Now, YouTube has added a new feature for easy fullscreen mode access and exit through gestures or swipes.
If you’re watching a video on YouTube and want to play it in fullscreen mode, you can easily swipe up on the video. If you want to exit fullscreen mode and return to the normal view, you can swipe down on the screen. This makes using fullscreen mode much easier and faster. For iPhone users, it is important to swipe the screen from the middle to the bottom when exiting fullscreen mode to avoid exiting the YouTube app and going to the home screen.
Suggesting Best Video Playback Mode
With millions of videos on YouTube varying in quality, shooting style, and presentation, you may notice that a specific video works well in horizontal mode while another can only be viewed in vertical mode or requires VR glasses, etc. For this reason, YouTube has added new suggestions for the best video playback mode. For example, if a video works well in horizontal mode, you will see a “Rotate” message below the video. You can either click on it to play the video in horizontal mode or click on the X button to close the message.
Sleep Reminder Feature
Smartphones consume a significant amount of our daily lives, and many people suffer from phone addiction. That’s why there are many apps that have added features to track time spent on the app and remind users of spending too much time on it. YouTube has added a sleep reminder feature that alerts you to go to sleep at a specific time.
To enable this feature, go to YouTube, click on the profile icon at the top right of the app, choose the watch duration, click on the “Remind me at bedtime” option, and select the time you want to be reminded if you’re watching YouTube at that time. You can also activate “Show reminder after the video ends” so you’re not interrupted if you’re watching a specific video.
