YouTube Music 3.07 lets you manually improve recommendations, adds animated thumbnails on iOS [APK Insight]

YouTube Music last week saw a wider international release to 14 countries including India and South Africa. The latest version of the app now lets users manually improve their music recommendations, while the iOS client adds animated thumbnails for videos.

About APK Insight: In this ‘APK Insight’ post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in the case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Improve your recommendations

During the initial setup process for YouTube Music, users are asked to select their favorite bands so that the app can provide suggestions before it learns from your listening habits. Users can now manually invoke the “Improve your recommendations” prompt from the bottom of the settings menu.

You are asked to “Pick some artists you like,” with an endless grid of popular musicians. When users tap on one, the app will load three similar artists immediately below it.  A “Done” icon will takes you back to the Home tab. This new option is rolling out now and not tied to version 3.07.

Playing on-device files

This release continues work on playing on-device files that users sideload. Content will be filtered by albums, artists, playlists, and songs. Version 3.0 added a rudimentary player for local audio files, while the past several releases have been refining the in-app UI.

<string name=”sideloaded_albums_empty_state_text”>Albums on your device will show up here</string>

<string name=”sideloaded_artists_empty_state_text”>Artists on your device will show up here</string>

<string name=”sideloaded_playlists_empty_state_text”>Playlists on your device will show up here</string>

<string name=”sideloaded_songs_empty_state_text”>Songs on your device will show up here</string>

Animated music video thumbnails

Meanwhile, YouTube Music 3.07 for iOS adds animated thumbnails for music videos in the Home tab. This live preview is similar to a feature in the primary YouTube client, and can be disabled in settings. A new “Show animated thumbnails” preference lets users select Never, Always, and Wi-Fi only. Given the feature parity between the two platforms, this will likely make its way to Android to replace the still covers on videos.

How to update?

YouTube Music 3.07 is rolling out now via the Play Store. We do not post APKs to download directly given the legal challenges associated with copyright and possibility of removal. Meanwhile, that model is perilous given Android App Bundles and Google Play’s Dynamic Delivery.

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, which some APK Insight teardowns benefit from.