YouTube is adding several new features for premium users, including support for smart downloads and picture-in-picture mode for Short videos, as well as a wider rollout of its “Jump Ahead” feature for navigating between videos.
The Google-owned video streaming platform already supports background playback for long-form videos and picture-in-picture mode so you can watch content while browsing other apps, and the company is now extending this support to Shorts, starting with Android users.
YouTube will also add a “jump ahead” button that will appear when users double-tap to skip.
When a user taps the button, YouTube will jump to the best parts of the video; the company identifies these parts using a combination of viewer data and machine learning. The feature has been in testing since last month and is now rolling out to all Android users in the U.S., with a rollout to iOS expected in the coming weeks.
YouTube is also adding new experimental features for a limited time.
First, there's the conversational AI tool that Google first tested last year, where users could ask chatbots questions about videos or request content recommendations to watch, and which the company is now bringing back for U.S. Android users.
Additionally, the video streaming platform is adding smart download support for Shorts, which means that YouTube will automatically download some short videos and make them available for offline viewing based on your recent Shorts viewing history. Apart from these features, YouTube is also testing a redesigned watch page on desktop.
Earlier this year, YouTube announced that it had more than 100 million paying users worldwide, across its Premium and Music offerings.