YouTube gets a new design, pinch-to-zoom, ambient mode, and more

The YouTube app is getting a new design and a slew of new features to improve the user experience. According to the company's official blog, the YouTube app on Android and iOS is getting updated with a new look, a pinch-to-zoom feature, precise seeking, ambient mode, a dark mode, and new buttons.

YouTube's pinch-to-zoom feature lets users zoom in on a video, allowing users to see more details. Apparently, this feature was available as a test for Premium users in August 2022, but now it is rolling out gradually to all users on Android and iOS. Next up, using precise seeking, you can easily find the specific part in a video. This feature is available on both smartphones and desktops. With this feature, you can drag the seek bar or swipe up to view thumbnails to jump to the exact part of the video.

The new YouTube UI design is now more consistent

The new YouTube update also includes an ambient mode that uses dynamic color, matching the app's background color with the colors in the video you are playing. It isn't very pronounced and applies the video colors subtly for aesthetics' sake. Also, the dark theme gets even darker and will be available on mobiles, the web, and on Smart TVs. That's great for people who wanted the AMOLED black look on their phones and tablets.

To make the watch pages easier on the eyes and to bring the focus back to the video player, the new update changes the YouTube links in the video descriptions to buttons. The like, share, and download buttons are getting makeovers and will get smaller in size. The Subscribe button is losing its “red-button” identity and is getting a black-and-white pill-shaped button.

The new YouTube update, as already mentioned, is rolling out gradually for Android and iOS users and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks. Some of the changes mentioned in this article are also coming to YouTube on the web and Samsung's Tizen OS TVs.