YouTube Getting New Look, Video Player Improvements and Pinch to Zoom on iOS
YouTube today announced a number of updates that are designed to improve the look and performance of the popular video player on desktop and on mobile devices.
An "ambient mode" changes the background color of the app in a subtle way to match the video that is playing, an effect that YouTube says is meant to draw viewers into the content. Ambient mode will be available on the web and on mobile when the dark theme is enabled.
The dark theme has also been updated to be even darker than before, a change made due to user feedback.
As for the video player, YouTube links in video descriptions will turn into buttons, and actions like share and download have been updated to minimize distractions. The subscribe button has an updated shape and color, with YouTube doing away with the red shade.
On iOS and Android devices, a pinch to zoom feature that's been in testing is rolling out as of today. Users can zoom in and out of a video, and when the zoom in function is used, the rest of the video stays zoomed until the user zooms back out.
Precise seeking has also been implemented to make it easier to rewind to a specific spot in a video. Users can drag or swipe when looking through a video to see a row of thumbnails that will help them find the exact part of the video they're looking for.
YouTube says that all of these changes will begin rolling out gradually over the course of the next few weeks.
Related Stories
YouTube is testing the ability for users to zoom into videos on iOS as part of its suite of features offered to premium subscribers. The "Pinch to zoom" feature is available as an experimenatal feature to YouTube Premium subscribers, and as it sounds, lets viewers zoom up to 8x into a video as they're watching it. The feature will be available until September 1 and may become a permanent...
YouTube has added a new playback feature to its web player and mobile apps that helps users identify the most replayed parts of a video they're watching (via TechCrunch).
Going forward, a gray graph will appear along the top of the video progress bar. "If the graph is high, then that part of the video has been replayed often," says YouTube. "You can use the graph to quickly find and watch...
YouTube may make watching videos in 4K quality on the platform exclusive to only YouTube Premium subscribers, according to screenshots posted by users on Twitter and Reddit.
On Reddit (1,2) and Twitter, some users have started to recently notice that on iOS, and presumably across other platforms also, YouTube is now saying that in order to watch videos in 4K, the user must be a paying...
Apple today shared a YouTube video that's designed to highlight the iPhone 14 Pro's camera capabilities, focusing specifically on Action Mode.
Action Mode is designed to offer extra stabilization when capturing video while moving, making it ideal for fun shots that otherwise would not be possible without expensive equipment. Apple designed Action Mode to replicate the video quality you might ...
YouTube has brought to an end a limited test that locked 4K videos behind its Premium subscription, according to one of its official Twitter accounts (via 9to5Google).
YouTube has supported 4K videos since 2010, and they have since been freely available to be viewed by anyone. At least, that was until earlier this month, when some users reported seeing a "Premium" label against 2160p/4K...
Zoom has released a new version of its macOS app with a fix for a security vulnerability affecting the app's automatic updates feature.
In an August 13 security bulletin, Zoom said version 5.7.3 to version 5.11.3 of its macOS app contain a vulnerability in the auto-update process that can be exploited by a local low-privileged user to gain root privileges to the operating system. The...
Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 models will be equipped with Sony's newest "state of the art" image sensors, according to a report from Nikkei.
Compared to standard sensors, Sony's image sensor doubles the saturation signal in each pixel, allowing it to capture more light to cut down on underexposure and overexposure. Nikkei says that it is able to better photograph a person's face even with...
MacRumors videographer Dan shares videos on the MacRumors YouTube channel on a regular basis, and this week, he thought he'd give viewers a look at his preferred Lock Screen and Home Screen designs, along with his favorite apps and games.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Give Dan's video a watch and then tell us in the comments below about your own favorite apps,...
Popular Stories
With the launch of iOS 16.1, Apple rolled out a Emergency SOS via Satellite, which is designed to allow iPhone 14 owners to contact emergency services using satellite connectivity when no cellular or WiFi connection is available. The feature was put to the test in Alaska today, when a man became stranded in a rural area. In the early hours of the morning on December 1, Alaska State Troopers ...
Apple plans to publicly release iOS 16.2 for the iPhone in mid-December, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The update remains in beta testing for now, with at least eight new features and changes already uncovered so far.
iOS 16.2 introduces a number of new features, including Apple's new whiteboard app Freeform, two new Lock Screen widgets for Sleep and Medications, the ability to hide...
Wednesday November 30, 2022 10:09 am PST by
Juli CloverApple today released iOS 16.1.2, another minor bug fix update that comes one week after the release of iOS 16.1.1 and three weeks after the launch of iOS 16.1, an update that added support for iCloud Shared Photo Library, Matter, Live Activities, and more.
The iOS 16.1.2 update can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According...
Do-it-yourself repair website iFixit today shared a video teardown of Apple's new 10th-generation iPad, providing a closer look inside the tablet and revealing why the device lacks support for the second-generation Apple Pencil.
The teardown reveals the internal layout of the iPad, including its two-cell 7,606 mAh battery, logic board with the A14 Bionic chip, and more.
As suspected, the...
Apple in late October began testing iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates, providing betas to both developers and public beta testers. As of now, we've had four total betas, with the fourth beta having been released earlier this week. iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 are expected before the end of the year, and we thought we'd try to narrow down the launch timeline.
With only four betas released since...
The next-generation MacBook Pro models could feature faster RAM, according to a recent report from a reliable source.
MacRumors Forums member "Amethyst," who accurately revealed details about the Mac Studio and Studio Display before those products were announced, recently provided information about Apple's upcoming 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. The new machines are expected to feature...
The calendar has turned to December and that means Apple has only one month left to fulfill its promises of releasing an Apple Music Classical app and expanding its self-service repair program to Europe before the end of 2022. Delays are always possible, of course, so the plans could be pushed back to 2023. In any case, we have put together a list of five things that Apple still has to release...
Apple today seeded the fourth betas of upcoming iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the betas coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas of iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2.
Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 profiles from the Apple Developer Center, and once installed, the beta is available over the air.
iOS...
iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models feature a LiDAR Scanner next to the rear camera that can be used to measure a person's height instantly in Apple's preinstalled Measure app.
To measure a person's height, simply open the Measure app, point your iPhone at the person you want to measure, and make sure they are visible on the screen from...
Apple has decided to call the software that will run on its upcoming AR/VR headset "xrOS," an update from the original "RealityOS or "rOS" naming the company was planning on, according to Bloomberg. Render created by Ian Zelbo based on rumored information The name change comes as Apple begins to prepare for the launch of the headset, which is expected at some point in 2023. The headset will...
Top Rated Comments
* Adding dislike count back (pipedream and not super relevant here)
* Putting comment access before related videos, no extra tap (this is for the cOmMuNiTy after all)
* Less icons in the video player itself
* Removing redundancies, like in the cog icon in top right
* Removing things no one uses, like cardboard view
* Edit: adding a default playback speed setting
* Edit: adding audio-only playback to save data and skip loading. YT Music does similar with music videos.
But anyway, suit yourself!