YouTube is the largest video streaming platform in the world. But with 17 years under your belt, it’s important to bring a breath of fresh air into the ministry from time to time.
Up to ten ads in a row and 4K resolution only with a premium subscription – YouTube has made headlines with this recently. After these controversial test phases, the company has now announced a more digestible change. Among other things, the YouTube app gets a design update.
Ambient Mode brings color to the YouTube app
So far, clear lines have dominated the YouTube app. Videos, buttons, comments and channel names are visually clearly separated. That should change with the new Ambient Mode. In a post on the YouTube blog, Nate Koechley, head of user experience (UX), writes, “We wanted to bring life to our apps without distracting from user behavior.”
Ambient Mode automatically detects the colors in the video and adds a slight transition to the app’s background color. It’s a similar effect to a TV, with light strips on the back projecting the display colors onto the wall. So if there is a green lawn in the lower part of the video, for example, the color flows into the background instead of ending directly at the frame. Suggested videos and playlists also have the same effect.
Ambient Mode comes first to the web version and YouTube app and is only available in Dark Mode. To make the effect a little more subtle, the company has made Dark Mode even darker. The new mode is coming to smart TVs alongside web and mobile versions.
New buttons are intended to draw focus to the video
Previously, there was a row of like, dislike, share, etc. buttons right below the video. YouTube has now made them significantly smaller and packed them in oval buttons. They also move down a row. The channel name, subscriber count and the subscribe button can now be found above it. Speaking of subscribe: the option is no longer red lettering, but a white button that moves to the right edge of the screen. The “Become a member” button is gone.
Links in the video description now also take the form of oval buttons. Also, the comments are no longer behind a column on the video page. Instead, YouTube visually differentiated them from the background with a rounded box.
New features in the YouTube update
YouTube has not only revised its app visually – the update also includes practical new functions.
Two finger zoom function
Previously, the YouTube app was only able to enlarge the display to the full width of the screen. With the zoom function Users can now enlarge videos with two fingers and simply select any image section. The practical thing about it: the enlarged section remains when you continue playback.
Precise search function
When finding a specific video image helps the new, precise search function. To do this, you have to swipe up on the progress bar, whereupon a strip with thumbnails appears. The exact picture you are looking for can be found in the video on this strip.
