by YouTube today announced a series of updates designed to improve the look and performance of the popular video player on desktop and mobile devices.
An “ambient mode” changes the app’s background color in a subtle way to match the video being played, an effect that YouTube says is meant to draw viewers into the content. Ambient mode will be available on web and mobile when the dark theme is enabled.
The dark theme has also been updated to be even darker than before, a change made due to user feedback.
As for the video player, YouTube links in video descriptions will become buttons, and actions like sharing and downloading have been updated to minimize distractions. The subscribe button has an updated shape and color, with YouTube removing the red tint.
On iOS and Android devices, a pinch-to-zoom feature that has been in testing is rolling out starting today. Users can zoom in and out on a video, and when zooming in, the rest of the video remains zoomed until the user zooms out again.
Pinpoint search has also been implemented to make it easier to go back to a specific point in a video. Users can drag or swipe while watching a video to see a row of thumbnails to help them find the exact part of the video they’re looking for.
YouTube says that all of these changes will begin to roll out gradually over the course of the next few weeks.
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