YouTube is testing a drastic change where you will be able to use the swipe-up gesture to change video in YouTube Android app. The new gesture hasn’t rolled out widely and is still being tested with a limited set of users. So far, the change isn’t being well received by the audience.
Spotted by Digital Trends contributor Tushar Mehta on Twitter/X, YouTube is testing a new swipe-up gesture functionality that results in a new video being played. As of now, the swipe-up gesture allows you to exit fullscreen mode. On Android, you can also swipe from either side to leave fullscreen, or use the arrow button in the top left corner. And YouTube seems to be leveraging those extra methods to leave fullscreen for introducing a new swipe-up gesture function.
The swipe-up gesture to change video in YouTube Android app, as of now, doesn’t seem to be the most user-friendly feature as this gesture is mostly suitable for the vertical short-form video content (for instance: YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels).
It is unclear whether the feature will see a wider rollout and YouTube hasn’t officially confirmed anything regarding the same, yet.
Meanwhile, YouTube recently introduced a bunch of other updates for its platform, including an improved mini player, a redesigned YouTube App on TV, QR code-based collaboration for YouTube playlists, and much more. The new set of features in YouTube includes fine-tunable playback speed, allowing for adjustments in 0.05 increments.
You’ll also find improved browsing in landscape with greater responsiveness, and larger thumbnails and bigger text, with the change coming to iOS later this year. Additionally, some visual improvements across YouTube are aimed at simplifying the app. YouTube also introduced new customization tools to give playlists a “personal touch.” Users can design their own custom thumbnails for playlists using their own photos or create new ones with generative AI.