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YouTube mobile gains animated loading screen from Android TV

YouTube for mobile users are now gaining the animated loading screen that was first seen on Android TV in late 2022.

Google explained that the new animation is part of an identity update that would be “engaging and easily recognizable.” Unlike the Android TV counterpart, the animated loading screen for YouTube on Android smartphones lacks the accompanying startup sound that will play when cold opening the application on your set-top box or Chromecast.

The animation was said to have been inspired by old CRT TVs. The process consists of a new loading bar icon that consists of the familiar YouTube play-head and a red progress bar. The “Play button” icon pops into view while the actual play icon slides in to complete the YouTube logo we all know and recognize. What’s interesting is that “YouTube” does not appear in text form alongside the classic logo.

Even with minor trimming of the startup process, this launch animation does create consistency when using YouTube on mobile or Android TV. Every precious second counts when you are opening apps on your smartphone, so it makes sense to adjust the animation here. Like the Android TV version, this new loading screen will only appear if you have not used the YouTube application for a long period or have recently updated:

At present, the loading screen is missing from YouTube on iPhone and iOS devices. It’s unclear if this will make the jump over to Apple hardware given that the restrictions on app opening animations are likely different on the iOS platform. However, we are regularly seeing this new animation across multiple Android-powered devices as of the latest v18.16.33 build but this is likely part of a server-side rollout. With that in mind, expect to see it expand over the coming days and weeks.

Thanks Suvraj!

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Avatar for Damien Wilde Damien Wilde

Damien is a UK-based video producer for 9to5Google. Find him on Twitter: @iamdamienwilde. Email: damien@9to5mac.com