So far, the bar is only visible on some Android devices in the site’s “dark theme” option, and is intended to provide viewers with a less distracting user interface.
Post Date – 11:20 PM, Saturday – 12/31/22
Angels: Video-sharing platform YouTube has announced a major change to its layout, just as we head into the New Year.
According to a report by US technology portal 9to5google, the multimedia site is testing a video progress bar that is more subtle than the original red video progress bar that users have been watching so far.
So far, the bar is only visible on some Android devices in the site’s “dark theme” option, and is intended to provide viewers with a less distracting user interface.
9to5google reports that the progress bar is colored “white/gray” when the video is playing in YouTube’s dark theme. In this case, YouTube does not record the amount of video loaded.
When the progress bar is interacted with or tapped to make the control visible, the progress bar reverts to its previous state, helping the UI disappear.
Outside of the YouTube video player, red still appears in the main feed, thus confirming that it remains the platform’s accent color. According to 9to5google, the color change of the progress bar is intended to improve the viewing experience.
Meanwhile, the platform, owned by tech giant Google, earlier started testing its queuing system on iOS and Android operating systems.
The feature has been available on the web for years and, in some cases, in the YouTube app, US tech news site The Verge reported.
People using their phones to control the Chromecast will likely recognize it, as will those using the YouTube Music app. Now, according to The Press, YouTube Premium users who opt-in to the beta will be able to add videos to a stack, which acts like a temporary playlist.
When enabled, the feature will allow users to access a new “Last Playing in Queue” button in the menu of three vertical dots displayed on video thumbnails.
