YouTube announced on Wednesday that it’s rolling out new trial features for its Premium subscribers, which include high-quality audio, accelerated playback speed on mobile, and a “jump ahead” function on the web that allows users to skip to the most captivating parts of videos.
The company regularly introduces features that can be activated at youtube.com/new. One of the new trials lets users upgrade their audio bitrate to as high as 256kbps while listening to music videos. This high-quality listening experience is also offered by YouTube Music when you tweak the settings to ‘High’ in the playback settings.
For mobile users, a picture-in-picture mode can come in handy, especially when multitasking. YouTube is running a test that lets users play YouTube Shorts in this mode on iOS. Additionally, users can now enable smart downloads for Shorts on iOS. This allows for automatic downloads of interesting videos that you can watch later without an internet connection. Android users have already been enjoying these features.
For those who prefer higher playback speeds, YouTube is testing allowing viewers to watch videos at up to 4x speed. Previously, the highest available speed was 2x.
YouTube is also enhancing user experience on the web for Premium users by bringing its “Jump Ahead” feature. This feature uses machine learning and user feedback to determine the most interesting parts of a video, allowing users to skip to right, skipping to these points.
Apart from these, Google also announced two expanded AI features related to YouTube Music. The company is extending the “Ask Music” feature to the UK and Ireland. This feature allows users to request for specific genres or moods, prompting a customized radio station.
Lastly, YouTube plans to extend a conversational AI feature to iOS users soon. This feature, first tested in 2023, lets users ask questions about a video or receive video recommendations.
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