The free version of YouTube offers a satisfactory experience, despite recent issues with ad blockers. However, for frequent users, a Premium subscription provides substantial benefits, including ad-free viewing, video downloads for offline playback, access to YouTube Music Premium, and early access to new features.
Today, YouTube announced the addition of five new features for Premium subscribers. Two of these features are being rolled out widely, while the other three are experimental and can be enabled by users who opt in. Here’s what’s new:
Picture-in-Picture for YouTube Shorts
Picture-in-picture (PIP) allows users to watch videos while using other apps. Now, Premium subscribers on Android can use PIP for YouTube Shorts as well. While this might be more useful for longer Shorts, it offers additional flexibility for multitasking.
Jump Ahead
Following a round of testing, YouTube is introducing Jump Ahead. This feature uses AI to analyze the “best” parts of a video, based on where most viewers skip to. When you double-tap the player window to skip ahead 10 seconds, you’ll now have the option to “Jump Ahead” to these popular segments. Initially, this feature will be available on YouTube for Android, with plans to expand to the iOS app for Premium subscribers soon.
Conversational AI (Experimental)
YouTube is reintroducing its conversational AI to Android devices. When available, an “Ask” button will appear beneath videos, allowing users to ask questions and request similar content while a video is playing. Although it may not be groundbreaking, this AI feature presents an interesting experiment.
New Watch Page UI (Experimental)
The YouTube web app for Premium subscribers is testing a new watch page design. While details are scarce, YouTube claims this new interface will simplify finding new videos and engaging with comments.
Smart Downloads for Shorts (Experimental)
With this experimental feature, YouTube will automatically download new Shorts to your smartphone, enabling you to watch them offline. Although specifics were not provided, it is likely these Shorts will also support PIP mode.
How to Opt-In to YouTube Experimental Features
To try out these experimental features, visit YouTube’s “New” webpage and opt in. This allows you to explore these new functionalities as well as any other experimental features currently being tested by YouTube.
