YouTube Rolls Out Updated Playback Speed Controls, Playlist Changes and More

YouTube has announced a range of updates, based on user feedback, which include various smaller tweaks and refinements that’ll ideally help to enhance the user experience.

And there are a lot. To make it easier, here’s a simplified listing of what’s coming to your YouTube app and YouTube TV experience in the near future.

Incremental playback speed – Based on user feedback, YouTube’s adding even more variable playback speed controls, so you can increase or decrease playback speed in 0.5 second increments. Why? Well, a lot of people listen to podcasts in double speed, and maybe they like to have more specific controls, while it’ll also enable you to break down specific elements of videos to dig into the detail.
Improved browsing in landscape mode – YouTube’s also making it easier to browse in widescreen mode, with better responsiveness, larger thumbnails and bigger test displays on screen. Landscape mode is particularly popular among gaming streamers, and this will help to enhance the experience.
Updated miniplayer – YouTube’s also updating its miniplayer, making it easier to browse other videos while watching, while you’ll also now be able to re-size and move the miniplayer screen as you like.

Collaborative playlists – YouTube will now also enable users to create collaboratve playlists with friends and family. “Simply invite others to collaborate using a special link, or – coming soon to TV – use a QR code for easy additions to a playlist.”

YouTube’s also adding custom thumbnails for playlists, as well as the capacity to vote on videos in playlists, so you and your friends can build the perfect listing.
Sleep timer – YouTube’s also adding a new Sleep Timer, which will enable you to automatically pause videos after a certain duration. So if you find yourself falling asleep to YouTube clips, now, you can automatically switch it off, as opposed to waking up and finding yourself way down some rabbithole of obscure videos that have been rolling on all night.
Achievement Badges in YouTube and YouTube Music – YouTube’s also adding new badges that celebrate “unique-to-YouTube milestones, such as being one of the first set of paid members of a creator’s channel, or correctly completing quizzes.”

In addition to these updates, YouTube’s also rolling out a range of new visual improvements across the YouTube app, while it’s also enhancing the YouTube TV experience, including an updated Shorts UI, which will make it easier to interact with Shorts, and engage with the comments.

The changes are part of YouTube’s annual refresh, in which it implements range of tweaks and tests that it’s been working on, generally for several months. As such, you may have already seen some of these elements in testing (especially if you’re a Premium subscriber), but now, YouTube’s moving to the next stage with these specific elements.

Will that have a big impact on your YouTube experience? Well, I’d say no, as none of these are major changes. But they are helpful, and they’ll be very welcome for certain users in certain contexts.

YouTube says that these updates are being rolled out over the next few months.