YouTube Tests New Video Player UI On Android; Looks Similar To Smart TV App

The YouTube developer team keeps testing new features, sometimes via A/B tests and sometimes with Premium subscribers. And from the looks of it, the team is now testing a new video player UI on Android, and it’s inspired by the streaming app’s smart TV app. And like me

According to a report from Android Authority, tipster David Df reached out to Mishaal Rehman via Telegram about the new video player UI for the app. He also sent screenshots of the new UI, which revealed a bunch of changes all around.

For starters, the video title and channel namenow feature a minimized font and are shown right above the progress bar when playing a video. In addition, the subscriber and view count as well as the publish date are shownright alongside the video and channel name. So, the top left corner of the video player now houses the rotate and expand buttons.

Moving to the right, we have the like, dislike, comment, share, and other common buttons, which were previously located below the progress bar on the left. These buttons themselves show more information, showing the number of comments and likes.

In fullscreen mode, the next and previous video buttons are missing. However, as Mishaal notes, the buttons appear when the video is paused in portrait mode. Rather strange, but it could also be a glitch.

Previously, the Remix button was hidden under the three-dot menu. Now, the Remix button joins the other buttons in place of the bookmark button. This is a rather odd choice since the chances of a user bookmarking a video they are watching instantly are way more than the ones remixing with it. Not exactly user-friendly.

However, I like the nifty button that’s been added in the bottom left to view the video chapters. In addition, if you’re watching a video that’s part of a playlist, a server-side update also lets you easily shift between videos by swiping up or down. Meanwhile, the swipe-down to minimize gesture will work only on the first video of a playlist and not the others. However, if a video is not part of a playlist, this gesture works on that too.

If you ask me, the design changes to the YouTube video player UI for Android are awkward. For the most part, they don’t make sense on small screens like on a phone. While it’s still understandable on a tablet, the new UI is best suited for TVs and monitors. The addition of all that extra information and button placement make the full-screen view rather cluttered and untidy.

However, since it’s under testing, YouTube may choose to not roll with it, given the community’s reaction. Some changes like the new video chapter button along with the like and share count being displayed are quite good, though. What do you think of the new video player UI for the YouTube Android app? Let us know in the comments below!