Even if you feel there’s no reason to touch YouTube’s familiar video player, Google thinks otherwise. Starting this week, the company is beginning to launch a new player design that will gradually reach mobile, browser, and smart screens – with an updated look and upgrades to the user experience.
According to YouTube, the new interface is intended to be “cleaner and more immersive,” with less visual clutter on the screen. Instead of the coarse buttons and outdated icons – you’ll find a fresh design with rounded buttons, new icons, and a bit of transparency that lets you see more of the content and less of the interface. The transition between tabs in the app has also been updated to allow smoother and more intuitive navigation.
But the change isn’t just in the design. One of YouTube’s most well-known features – double-tapping to skip forward or backward – has been redesigned. Now it looks less intrusive and feels a bit more natural. In addition, to add another layer of interactivity, YouTube is integrating new animations when liking videos, such as a musical note that pops up when you like a music video.
The comment system is also receiving a small but important update, with a more organized structure that makes reading comments within discussions easier. YouTube claims they are trying to match the energy of the interface to the content itself – lively, dynamic, and constantly changing. It seems they’re not entirely wrong.
The update began rolling out gradually on October 13, so if you haven’t seen it yet – it’s probably on its way to you.