YouTube rolling out player page redesign with gestures, suggestions for Android and iOS

Abner Li | Oct 26 2020 - 9:46 am PT

YouTube today announced a series of Android and iOS updates as part of a video player page redesign. The general look stays the same, but the Google company has worked to optimize button placement and layouts, while adding some convenient shortcuts.

It starts with a “more streamlined player page” that moves various buttons out of menus and into more prominent locations. Captions are no longer the second item in the overflow menu, but rather accessible as “CC” controls in the top-right corner. Similarly, the “autoplay” toggle is now almost centered at the very top of the screen. That particular change is also coming to the Desktop client as a test “soon.”

Google touts other “small improvements” like new icons that are hollowed-out and “snappier controls that make any action you take even faster.”

The YouTube app is also boosting the Video Chapters experience by letting users click within the player to get a list view:

You’ll be able to see a complete list of all chapters included in the video you’re watching, each with a preview thumbnail of what you’ll find in that chapter. Save time by quickly jumping to the part you’re interested in!

To enter YouTube’s fullscreen mode with this redesign, all users need to do is swipe up on the player, while an opposite downward action lets you exit. Another way to enter this mode is through a “Rotate” suggested action that YouTube introduced today. Another suggestion might prompt users to enter the VR player, with more suggestions coming in the future.