YouTube app makes it easier to save data with new video quality controls

I’ve often found myself accidentally burning through my daily mobile data quota after watching a few high-resolution YouTube videos, oblivious of the fact I wasn’t hooked to a Wi-Fi network, but cellular data. Yes, the app has offered an option to restrict video quality to sub-HD resolutions when using mobile data, but it is not easily accessible. That is finally getting solved with what appears to be a server-side update for the YouTube mobile app that adds new video quality controls. 

The Settings page now has a more detailed 'video quality preferences' section

Now, when you tap on the quality option while watching videos in the YouTube mobile app, you’ll now see a different layout. Instead of the long list of video resolutions available from 144p and all the way to 4K, you’ll now be three presets – Auto, Higher Picture Quality, and Data Saver. However, you can still manually specify the video resolution by tapping on the Advanced option at the bottom.

youtube app resolution controls

Talking about the new video quality controls, the ‘data saver’ preset appears to max out at 480p resolution, while the ‘higher picture quality’ option reaches the 720p mark on mobile data. You can customize these video quality settings separately for mobile data and Wi-Fi, so that you don’t have to tinker with the resolution controls every time you switch the mode of connectivity.

youtube video quality preferences

You can still manually specify the video resolution by tapping on the Advanced option

If you think these new presets are not up to the mark,  you can always open the ‘Advanced’ option to manually specify the video resolution. I’ve already got the new interface in the YouTube app on my Google Pixel 4a, but it doesn’t appear to be live on my secondary OPPO phone yet. If you’re yet to see the new settings, make sure you’ve updated the YouTube app to its latest version. And just in case you’re wondering, these new video quality controls are available on both Android and iOS versions of the YouTube mobile app.

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Two years later, YouTube has finally made up its mind about dislikes

In February of 2019, YouTube Product Manager Tom Leung, shared a video in which he talked about dealing with the Dislike button. Back then, he proposed solutions against abusive use of the Dislike button which included everything from asking users to submit a reason before their dislike is registered to altogether removing the button. Well, two years later, YouTube has apparently made up its mind – hiding the dislike count for a small bunch of users.

Creators will be able to see the dislikes count on YouTube Studio

The official YouTube handle on Twitter has revealed that the company is currently hiding the number of dislikes on videos. However, the change is being tested only for a small number of users. YouTube says that it is experimenting with hiding the dislikes counter after receiving feedback from creators about the impact of this disheartening metric on their mental health. Additionally, it will allow the company to tackle the menace of targeted dislike campaigns, or the dreaded ‘dislike mobs’ that have become a major nuisance lately.

However, creators will still be able to see the exact number of dislikes registered on their video by accessing the YouTube Studio dashboard. As for users in the test circle for whom the dislike count has been hidden, they will still be able to register their displeasure with a video by tapping the thumbs down button.

Users will still be able to register their dislike despite the number being hidden

Over the past few years, dislike bombing has become the weapon of choice for online communities to make their displeasure known, be it over genuinely bad content or with some ulterior motive. Take for example the 2018 YouTube Rewind, which raked in an impressive 10 million dislikes in just over a week. However, the dislike mob can also be politically motivated, gamers annoyed by a publisher’s shady move, or fans of a movie simply review bombing the content from a rival star or franchise.

While channels run by studios or corporations don’t have much to lose over dislike counts, those by individual creators have to suffer from the abuse in comments and the stress of accumulating a huge number of dislikes, especially if they didn’t deserve all that hate. It remains to be seen if, or when, YouTube enforces its hidden dislikes count policy widely.

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Twitter tests YouTube video playback without leaving the app

Twitter has been on a roll lately. Aside from announcing a ton of upcoming features, the social media platform has also been actively testing useful new tricks. Earlier this week, Twitter announced that users can set up multiple physical security keys for two-factor authentication to protect their accounts. Now, the company has begun testing another very convenient feature – native YouTube video playback.

As the name makes it abundantly clear, Twitter wants users to be able to play YouTube videos directly on their timeline, rather than being redirected to the YouTube app. Currently, when you tap on the play button on a YouTube preview link in a tweet, the Twitter app opens the YouTube app installed on your phone to play the video. There isn’t an option to watch the video directly without leaving the app on mobile devices. 

The sorcery that brings this feature to life is called Web View

“Starting today on iOS, we’re testing a way to watch YouTube videos directly in your Home timeline, without leaving the conversation on Twitter,” the company says. In the comments section, the official Twitter Support handle clarified that the company is currently testing native YouTube video playback only on the iOS app, and there is no word when this will make it to the Android side of the mobile ecosystem. 

It appears that Twitter is making use of the Web Views technique here, which allows an app to display rich web content such as an embedded HTML and website content directly within the app. In broad terms, it is essentially a technique to incorporate web content seamlessly into an app’s user interface.

YouTube will count videos watched in Twitter app as views

In the context of Apple’s software ecosystem, here’s how an official support page defines it: “The web view automatically loads embedded resources such as images or videos as part of the initial load request. It then renders your content and displays the results inside the view’s bounds rectangle.” And yes, YouTube will count videos watched inside the Twitter app as a view, per Twitter’s Product Lead Kayvon Beykpour, in case you’re wondering.

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The US gets another TikTok competitor in the form of YouTube Shorts

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Back in September 2020, YouTube introduced its TikTok competitor – Shorts. The feature was launched in India when the country banned TikTok. YouTube Shorts goes up against the likes of TikTok and its clones including Instagram Reels. Now, the company is launching  YouTube Shorts in the US. It is rolling out in beta, and the company says it will be rolled out gradually over the next “several weeks.”

YouTube Shorts offers users tools to make a clip of 15 seconds or less. You just need to tap the “Create” icon at the bottom of the YouTube homepage and select the “create a short” option to instantly record a short video in the mobile app. You can also upload a short video. The tool allows you to merge multiple clips together, add a song to the background by picking up music from YouTube’s vast library of content and more.

With the US launch, YouTube is adding several new features, including the ability to add text to specific points in the video and to sample audio from other Shorts. Now, it also lets you swipe vertically from one video to the next. As of now, it doesn’t include any ads or offer other monetization features for creators. However, YouTube will begin experimenting with those later this year.

According to the company, the number of Indian channels using Shorts has more than tripled since the beginning of December alone. Moreover, the YouTube Shorts player has now surpassed 6.5 billion daily views globally. And now, the company is bringing Shorts beta to the US.

As more people create and watch Shorts, we expect that our systems will get even better, improving our ability to help you discover new content, trends, and creators you’ll love,” wrote the company in its blog post.

Source

 

The post The US gets another TikTok competitor in the form of YouTube Shorts appeared first on Pocketnow.

It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

The US gets another TikTok competitor in the form of YouTube Shorts

It's only fair to share...Share on RedditShare on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on Tumblr

Back in September 2020, YouTube introduced its TikTok competitor – Shorts. The feature was launched in India when the country banned TikTok. YouTube Shorts goes up against the likes of TikTok and its clones including Instagram Reels. Now, the company is launching  YouTube Shorts in the US. It is rolling out in beta, and the company says it will be rolled out gradually over the next “several weeks.”

YouTube Shorts offers users tools to make a clip of 15 seconds or less. You just need to tap the “Create” icon at the bottom of the YouTube homepage and select the “create a short” option to instantly record a short video in the mobile app. You can also upload a short video. The tool allows you to merge multiple clips together, add a song to the background by picking up music from YouTube’s vast library of content and more.

With the US launch, YouTube is adding several new features, including the ability to add text to specific points in the video and to sample audio from other Shorts. Now, it also lets you swipe vertically from one video to the next. As of now, it doesn’t include any ads or offer other monetization features for creators. However, YouTube will begin experimenting with those later this year.

According to the company, the number of Indian channels using Shorts has more than tripled since the beginning of December alone. Moreover, the YouTube Shorts player has now surpassed 6.5 billion daily views globally. And now, the company is bringing Shorts beta to the US.

As more people create and watch Shorts, we expect that our systems will get even better, improving our ability to help you discover new content, trends, and creators you’ll love,” wrote the company in its blog post.

Source

 

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