YouTube recently rolled out a bunch of new features for Premium subscribers, including a quick way to skip the most boring parts of a video. When users double-tap on a video, it will now jump to what YouTube has flagged as the most interesting parts based on a combination of ai and audience data. The capability is now available in the US for Android users, though it will also be rolling out to iOS users in the coming weeks. On Android, Premium subscribers can now also watch Shorts while checking their emails, browsing social media, or doing things in other apps in general with the new picture-in-picture capability.
Paying users will also have access to the video hosting website's latest experimental features. One of YouTube's newest testing features is Smart Downloads for Shorts, which automatically saves the service's short videos to users' devices for later offline viewing. Additionally, Android users now have access to a conversational ai experience that can answer their questions and suggest related content without having to take their eyes off what's playing on their screens. However, at the moment it is only limited to US users and only for English videos that show the “Ask a Question” button. Finally, Premium subscribers can access YouTube's redesigned viewing page for the web that apparently makes it easier to find related content.
YouTube Premium removes ads from videos and gives subscribers access to offline viewing, Music Premium, and other benefits. In February, the Google-owned video-sharing platform reported that it had hit 100 million subscribers for both its Premium and Music offerings, but it has been trying to get more people to pay for its services. In addition to introducing new benefits, it’s also waging a war on ad blockers and recently began blocking ad-blocking apps on mobile devices from accessing its videos.
