YouTube TV App Overhaul: Better Music, UI on Smart TVs
YouTube TV App Overhaul: Enhanced Music Features and UI Improvements for Smart TVs
YouTube has rolled out a significant update to its app for smart TVs and game consoles, focusing on improved user interface (UI) and enhanced music features. The changes, announced in a YouTube support post, aim to streamline navigation and provide easier access to content.
Key improvements include a revamped home screen with new sections, or "shelves," designed to help users quickly find what they're looking for. A "Continue your search" shelf displays the user's top three recent searches, while a "Listen again" shelf highlights recently played songs. A new "Live performances, remixes and covers" shelf offers alternative versions of favorite songs. Additionally, a "Primetime channels" shelf aggregates subscribed channels like Paramount+, Showtime, Starz, and DAZN, blurring the lines between YouTube and its YouTube TV service. Finally, a "From your top channels" shelf provides shortcuts to frequently watched channels.
Further enhancements cater to music lovers. YouTube, now the most popular podcast service in the US according to Edison Research, has added a dedicated Podcasts tab. The update also separates YouTube Shorts from longer-form videos, creating a "Shorts Row" in the "Watch Next" feed and a dedicated Shorts section in the Subscriptions tab. This aims to create a cleaner viewing experience. All on-demand videos can now be looped, a feature previously limited to playlists. Inline previews, previously limited to video thumbnails, have expanded to channel, subscription, and topic pages.
These UI updates are part of a larger effort to improve the YouTube TV experience on smart TVs. YouTube recently teased a full redesign slated for this summer, promising easier navigation and streamlined access to comments, channel information, and subscriptions. While these current updates primarily focus on playback and content discovery, they represent a significant step towards a more user-friendly experience. The updated app is expected to roll out soon, or by the end of June.
YouTube has rolled out a significant update to its app for smart TVs and game consoles, focusing on improved user interface (UI) and enhanced music features. The changes, announced in a YouTube support post, aim to streamline navigation and provide easier access to content.
Key improvements include a revamped home screen with new sections, or "shelves," designed to help users quickly find what they're looking for. A "Continue your search" shelf displays the user's top three recent searches, while a "Listen again" shelf highlights recently played songs. A new "Live performances, remixes and covers" shelf offers alternative versions of favorite songs. Additionally, a "Primetime channels" shelf aggregates subscribed channels like Paramount+, Showtime, Starz, and DAZN, blurring the lines between YouTube and its YouTube TV service. Finally, a "From your top channels" shelf provides shortcuts to frequently watched channels.
Further enhancements cater to music lovers. YouTube, now the most popular podcast service in the US according to Edison Research, has added a dedicated Podcasts tab. The update also separates YouTube Shorts from longer-form videos, creating a "Shorts Row" in the "Watch Next" feed and a dedicated Shorts section in the Subscriptions tab. This aims to create a cleaner viewing experience. All on-demand videos can now be looped, a feature previously limited to playlists. Inline previews, previously limited to video thumbnails, have expanded to channel, subscription, and topic pages.
These UI updates are part of a larger effort to improve the YouTube TV experience on smart TVs. YouTube recently teased a full redesign slated for this summer, promising easier navigation and streamlined access to comments, channel information, and subscriptions. While these current updates primarily focus on playback and content discovery, they represent a significant step towards a more user-friendly experience. The updated app is expected to roll out soon, or by the end of June.
