YouTube is the largest online video repository with over 1.5 billion monthly active users and we have been accustomed to the current user interface for quite some time now. However, they have been teasing a refresh for quite some time and now they have made it official.
The refresh has been done on both the mobile apps and on desktop. On desktop, YouTube has been testing the refreshed design for quite some time now which ditches the old design for a Material Design look. One of the coolest features about it is that there is a dark theme which you toggle under settings for use in dim light situations.
YouTube has also been testing a refreshed look on mobile which ditched the strong red accents for a generally white background. There are several updates in the new mobile app:
- Navigation tabs are now at the bottom and it includes the new Library and Account tabs
- Gestures are now prominent on YouTube where you can double tap on the left or right to fast forward or rewind it. They are also experimenting on a feature where you would jump between videos with a simple swipe.
- You’ll be able to slow down video just like how you do it on desktop
- It will seamlessly adapt to videos shot in different ways (portrait, horizontal and square).
- You’ll see a row of suggested videos while watching in full screen.
The other big news is that YouTube has changed its logo. Previously, the red rounded rectangle circled the Tube” part of the name and now it is a red play rectangle alongside the YouTube name.
You may have seen some of these updates being pushed to your apps and YouTube says they will continue to release these updates throughout the rest of the year.
