YouTube

After widespread outrage at the removal of “Dislike” counts on YouTube wholesale, it appears that Google is attempting to spread some cheer with a brand new “Like” button animation on mobile.

At the end of last month, Google started requiring Android apps distributed via the Play Store to use its payment service rather than letting developers continue to collect billing details directly. To follow those latest guidelines, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV now use Google Play Billing. 

With the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival returning after a two-year absence, YouTube will be there to livestream both weekends of the 2022 event.

Back in December, Google made official a YouTube app on the Cast-powered Chromecast that can be controlled by a remote on your phone, but a bug is causing desktop Chrome users to also see the new UI.

Google and the Major League Baseball Association reached a deal last year to stream some MLB games via YouTube, and that contract has been renewed for the 2022 season. YouTube will stream 15 MLB games through May and June, and now in higher resolution.

As TikTok has dominated the internet, other platforms have been quick to cash in on the short-form video trend. Instagram did it with Reels, and YouTube has been doing it with Shorts. Now, YouTube Shorts are expanding yet again, this time on the web and tablets.

This weekend, YouTube removed the long-running experiment that allowed iPhone and iPad users to keep watching videos in picture-in-picture mode. Now, YouTube has confirmed that its iOS app is in the process of rolling out picture-in-picture support to everyone on iOS 15 and up.

After adding the ability to share your current YouTube Music playlist or track, you’re now able to directly share YouTube videos to Snapchat for Android and iOS.

Recent reports have made it clear that YouTube wants a slice of the massive demand for podcast content, and it seems plans are finally coming together. A new leaked presentation offers a ton of insight into YouTube’s plan for true podcast support.

This week, Google announced another step towards the end of Play Movies & TV as it continues to push towards Google TV instead. It’s the right call, but with a headache attached for many customers.

Since 2018, YouTube has offered a collection of free-to-watch movies that are supported by advertising. That YouTube library in the US is now expanding to TV shows with almost 4,000 free episodes.

The latest UI test for YouTube on mobile makes yet more adjustments to the autoplay “Playback in feed” feature to make this more immersive.

YouTube Premium is how you’re officially supposed to watch videos without ads so that Creators continue to earn revenue from their work. An effort has long existed to get around paying for the ad-free subscription, but “YouTube Vanced” is now shutting down.

The latest project from Area 120, Google’s house incubator, is called “Aloud,” and it lets YouTube creators “quickly and easily dub their videos into multiple languages.”

YouTube’s interest in the podcasting space is quite explicit at this point, and the latest effort is offering grants to make video podcasts that are more native to the network.