YouTube receives major update: What has changed?

YouTube has released a major update, introducing new features for its mobile, web, and TV apps. It now offers more precise playback speed controls and the ability to create collaborative playlists via links and QR codes, according to TechCrunch.

Previously, users could only adjust playback speed in increments of 0.25x. Now, YouTube allows increasing or decreasing speed in 0.05x steps by pressing the “+” or “-” symbols in the new speed control menu. Additionally, a sleep timer feature has been made available to all users, which was previously limited to YouTube Premium subscribers.

Creating collaborative playlists has also become easier. You can share a link or QR code for a playlist with another user, who can add their own photos as thumbnails or use YouTube’s GenAI tool to generate thumbnails from text prompts. In the future, co-creators will be able to vote on videos in shared playlists and receive feedback.

YouTube has also made some design changes to its mobile app. On Android, in landscape mode, videos now have larger thumbnails and text, while the player has become more responsive to user interactions. These features will be rolled out on iOS a bit later.

Moreover, the mini-player is now more convenient — it can be moved and resized during content playback. The TV app has received an improved user interface for Shorts, and for video creators, YouTube has added a set of icons as an additional way to engage with their community.