YouTube this week rolled out new updates to its iOS and Android apps, introducing an all new card-based layout that allows users to browse and play videos at the same time. The fresh layout is designed to be faster and more fluid, and it looks a lot like other Google-designed apps that are dominated by the company’s affection for cards and minimalist designs.
Google describes the updated version of YouTube as “picture-in-picture,” like you’d see on a television. A lot of the navigation is based on gestures—drag a video down to play it in a smaller window so you can continue to browse, and reverse that to bring it back to full size. If you want to stop a video from playing, just swipe it off the screen to the left or right. Additionally, Google has added the ability to search for playlists with a new “play all” button so you can breeze through a ton of videos with minimal effort.
The updates are already available for both apps, and includes a pretty nice new icon. No matter which platform you subscribe to, Google has put into both ecosystems equally, which is always good for the consumer. If you spent a lot of time with the YouTube app, the experience is about to get that much better. Now if only Google could work something out with Microsoft for Windows Phone…
