After adding Waze integration, library sorting, and new “Released” playlist in recent weeks, the latest version of Google’s primary streaming service is rolling out. YouTube Music 3.31 reveals work on a “retail mode” to help increase adoption.
After finally gaining the ability to sort albums and other saved library content, YouTube Music’s latest addition is the “Released” playlist of the “hottest 50 songs.” It’s similar to Apple Music’s “New Music Daily” and Spotify’s “New Music Friday.”
In addition to lacking major features like a cloud locker and migrating playlists, YouTube Music is still missing basic functionality expected in an audio player. The ability to sort albums and playlists is now finally available on Android and iOS.
All focus for Google when it comes to music streaming has moved to YouTube Music, and starting today, Waze will get integration with the service.
YouTube’s paid Premium and Music services are a pretty good value on their own, but students can get an even better deal. YouTube Premium and Music are offering a 3-month trial of their half-price student plans.
The last major update to YouTube Music added seamless switching between audio and video, while the Android app is testing an elevation of “Search” to the bottom bar. YouTube Music 3.27 reveals work on a homescreen widget and some sort of Waze integration.
Earlier this month, we spotted a “Resume your podcast” card in the Google Assistant Updates feed. This visual snapshot of your day is testing a full weather card, while there’s now a suggestions carousel dedicated to Spotify or YouTube Music.
Earlier today, YouTube Music rolled out fast, seamless switching between audio and music videos. The Android app is now A/B testing an elevation of search to the bottom bar.
Unsurprisingly, YouTube’s streaming service has always maintained a big focus on video. The latest YouTube Music feature adds seamless switching between songs and music videos.
I like YouTube Music and have been using it daily since the May 2018 relaunch as Google’s primary streaming service. For the most part, it’s good, and there are features most people can appreciate. However, a year after launch, YouTube Music in 2019 is starting to show signs of not keeping up with vibrant competition. More importantly, it’s not adding features for the diehard, built-in Play Music audience.
YouTube Music 3.17 rolled out earlier this week with only one minor aesthetic tweak compared to last month’s more notable update. The Android app drops the red ring in the top-right corner that denotes YouTube Music Premium status.
Last week, YouTube Music began widely rolling out local “device files” playback on Android. The app’s next change is a new adaptive icon that drops the white background for a full edge-to-edge design.
Compared to YouTube TV, YouTube Music hasn’t found critical acclaim or relative market success. A new report today reveals that YouTube Music has 15 million subscribers a year after launch.
On Monday, the ability to play local audio files on your device was spotted in YouTube Music for Android. YouTube Music local playback — an important step towards replacing Play Music — is now more widely rolling out today.
For the past several releases, we have been closely tracking the ability to play on-device audio files in YouTube Music for Android. This feature is a big step towards towards replacing Play Music, and is now beginning to appear for some users.
Following Home’s new “Gentle Sleep & Wake” feature yesterday, Google speakers and Smart Displays now support YouTube Music’s free tier. This allows you to listen to stations that feature ads, with availability starting today in 16 countries.
Every year, YouTube partners with Coachella to stream the desert concert series online. The arrangement is now in its ninth consecutive edition with Coachella 2019, and Google this year is pushing YouTube Music and broadcasting a performance in Times Square.
Last year, YouTube Music became Google’s primary streaming service with the company telegraphing that Play Music will eventually be replaced. Google this month will close the Google Play Artist Hub that musicians use to directly interact with the Play Store.
Back in November, our APK Insight of YouTube Music revealed work on letting users play on-device audio files. This is an important step towards making the app Android’s default playback client. YouTube Music 3.09 today reveals more about the functionality, specifically its limitations.
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.
Google’s premier streaming services, YouTube Music and YouTube Premium have now rolled out to a further 14 nations as the service continues to expand since launching in May 2018.
Following Spotify and Samsung expanding their music partnership this morning, Google will give four months of YouTube Premium to Galaxy S10 owners. This deal will also be extended to the Galaxy Fold in April, while other Samsung devices will benefit from a similar offer until next year.
Earlier this week, Google Clock added support for musical alarms from YouTube Music, while last month the streaming service gained Android Auto integration with version 3.03. That update also added rudimentary support for playing on-device audio files.
