YouTube

YouTube in recent years has been increasing the number of ads that viewers see in and between videos, all in an attempt to get more people to subscribe to its YouTube Premium plan, which removes all ads for a monthly fee, amongst other benefits. If you're a regular user of YouTube, paying a few dollars a month to enjoy an ad-free experience is probably worth the outlay, especially if you...

Beginning March 2021, YouTube officially ended support for its YouTube app on third-generation Apple TV models. If you own the older set-top box, which launched in January 2013, you'll be unable to access the video platform directly via the official YouTube Apple TV app. (You're also basically in the same situation if you own the second-generation Apple TV, which doesn't have an App Store at...

In iOS 14, Apple added a Picture in Picture mode on iPhone that lets you watch a video in a small screen on your device while you continue to do other things on the phone. Picture in Picture mode doesn't work in the YouTube app, although it was possible to watch videos in Picture in Picture on YouTube's mobile website through Safari until YouTube intentionally nixed the workaround last...

The official YouTube app for iOS has gained a new voice search feature that aims to make searching for content easier when you're casting YouTube video to a smart TV. Once you've connected your iPhone or iPad to a smart TV, you can search with your voice via the mobile app, as well as use it to pause, play, and adjust the volume on your TV. Here's how it works. Download and launch the You...

Over the next few weeks, YouTube is rolling out a new feature for its mobile app called "Autoplay on Home," which automatically plays videos that appear on your Home tab. As you scroll through your Home feed, videos will begin to play on mute with captions auto-enabled. Google claims the previously Premium-only feature is a better way to experience new content on the go, and will help you...

In August 2012, iOS users began noticing that the default YouTube app had been removed from Apple's software in iOS 6 Beta 4, becoming permanent with the public debut of the software in the fall of 2012. For the five years prior, YouTube was a mainstay on the iPhone, launching as a default app on iPhone OS as far back as the original iPhone in 2007. Animosity between Apple and many Android...

YouTube made several announcements at the annual VidCon convention in California on Thursday, covering VR, YouTube TV, new original series, and a number of changes coming to the YouTube web and app interface. First up, YouTube announced a brand new high resolution video format called VR180 that it said would make VR content easier to create. VR180 works on both mobile and desktop, and focuses...

Google is currently promoting a free three-month trial of YouTube Red, its ad-free video service offering subscribers uninterrupted music, background app play, and offline access to YouTube-hosted content. In addition to allowing users to test out the personalized stations via the new YouTube Music mobile app, the trial provides access to original programming produced by YouTube creators as...

YouTube TV, the streaming television service that launched in April, was today updated with support for AirPlay, allowing video streamed from the iPhone or the iPad to be played on an Apple TV. The service has been available on the iPad and the iPhone through a YouTube TV app since it launched, but YouTube has not yet made an app available on the Apple TV. Prior to today, Chromecast was...

YouTube has announced plans to produce a raft of original programming beginning this year, as the Google-owned video site moves to counter the rising tide of premium streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. The difference in YouTube's approach to original content is that its shows will be free to view on its website and apps through an ad-supported format, rather than being tied to...

YouTube TV, YouTube's streaming television service that was first announced in late February, is rolling out to five cities in the United States starting today. Priced at $35, the service is available in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Separate from YouTube Red, YouTube's premium service that features content from prominent YouTubers,...

YouTube today officially announced its new streaming television service, YouTube TV, reports Recode. Priced at $35 per month, YouTube TV features access to ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and approximately 30 major cable channels, with television content available alongside YouTube's own video content. Separate from YouTube Red, the new TV service will be available as a standalone app that's launching...

Viewers around the world are watching more than 1 billion hours of YouTube videos every day, setting the online video service on the path to beat regular TV viewership, according to a report this week by The Wall Street Journal. The 1 billion hour milestone, which YouTube passed sometime late in 2016, is said to have been reached thanks to Google's "aggressive embrace of artificial intelligence...

YouTube will stop supporting unskippable 30-second ads on the popular streaming video platform beginning sometime in 2018, according to an official statement from Google given to Campaign. The move is said to be a way to provide a better experience and format that works well for YouTube users, as well as the company's advertisers. The advertising focus for YouTube will switch over to a...

YouTube today announced that its new mobile live streaming feature is officially launching to all content creators with 10,000 or more subscribers on their channel, while promising that the rest of YouTube viewers "will have it soon." YouTube has supported live streaming on its website since 2011, but it began a very small beta test of mobile live streaming on iOS devices last summer. To begin ...

Chromecast users can now control YouTube streaming to their TV from the lock screen of their iPhone, thanks to the latest update to the YouTube app. Like YouTube for Android devices, version 12.03 of the iOS app adds play, pause, previous, next, and volume controls to the iPhone's lock screen whenever YouTube is casting to Chromecast devices, smart TVs, game consoles, and other living room...

Reddit users have recently discovered that YouTube refuses to stream newly uploaded 4K video in its native resolution if the website is accessed through Safari web browser. The issue was first raised almost a month ago by Reddit user GezimS, who wondered why the option to view 4K videos in 2160p was no longer available. Other users soon chimed in to confirm the anomaly, noting that it...

Google issued an update to its YouTube app for iOS this week that adds a progress bar to the thumbnails of previously watched videos, allowing users to resume playback from where they left off. Ever have trouble remembering if you've seen a video or how far you made it through the video? We have added a progress bar to all previously watched thumbnails that lets you know how far you made it...

YouTube has announced it now supports 4K live streaming at 60 frames per second, enabling content creators to live broadcast both 360-degree and standard video in the high resolution standard. Viewers with screens equipped to take advantage of the resolution shouldn't have to wait long to tune in to regularly streamed 4K broadcasts. YouTube said the first event to be live streamed in 4K will...

Google has inked a deal with CBS for its upcoming web-based streaming television service, reports The Wall Street Journal. Called "Unplugged," the paid subscription service, available on YouTube, will see Google offering a bundle of several channels for a set price of $25 to $40 per month. CBS, a major network, is now on board, and Google is also said to be close to reaching deals with both...

Google has announced YouTube Go, a new app that lets users save videos for offline viewing and allows sharing of videos with nearby users over Bluetooth (via The Verge). The app includes options for previewing videos before download, and controlling video quality and file size, all of which are intended to benefit users concerned about cellular data limits and those who are located in areas...

Popular video platform YouTube is reportedly seeking to greatly expand its social features with a new section called "Backstage," where users can share photos, polls, links, text posts, and videos to anyone subscribed to their channel (via VentureBeat). According to internal sources at YouTube, Backstage will launch in the fall both on the company's mobile apps and desktop. The initial soft...

YouTube has removed the large, default volume indicator from its iOS app, letting users effectively toggle sound controls up and down while in a full-screen video without having to worry about the translucent UI obscuring most of the content. The removal came in version 11.30 of the YouTube app, which began rolling out yesterday. Any time the app is in portrait mode, the regular indicator will...

In a post on the company's official blog, YouTube yesterday announced that its paid subscription service -- dubbed YouTube Red -- will now encompass YouTube Kids, enabling "a whole new set of features for the family to enjoy" whenever parents sign up for Red. Available in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, the move comes about 15 months after YouTube Kids came under fire by some...

Google yesterday posted an entry on its YouTube Engineering and Developers Blog, detailing the increased encryption achieved by the company for its video streaming site. Over the past few months, Google has slowly bolstered the encryption for YouTube, and now 97 percent of the service's traffic is encrypted using HTTPS. The encryption-enforcing protocol provides "critical security and data...