One of the latest reports by the Reddit explorer @u/FragmentedChicken says that Google is currently testing a brand new slide playback control feature for its YouTube app. It’s already available in the latest beta of the app for Android and for a limited number of iOS users as well. Let's take a closer look at how the upcoming feature works.
Slide-to-Seek
In the current version of the YouTube app on both iOS and Android, you can use the “10-second” buttons for skipping parts of videos or drag and hold the progress bar to find the needed part. Alternatively, you can tap the left or the right part of the screen to skip backward and forward.
As most of the users report in their reviews, both playback control features lack convenience and precision. Developers are familiar with the problem, and the new slide-to-seek gesture looks like a progressive solution. But how does it work?
To use the new feature in the beta version, you have to tap and hold your finger in the middle of the screen (or anywhere else). Move it left or right when the words “Slide left or right to seek” appear above the video window. You will be able to preview all the content you skip in a thumbnail, which looks just like the one in the desktop browser version of YouTube.
Getting Better
The new playback control gesture seems to be one of the largest UI improvements in the YouTube app since the dark theme release. We tested the feature, and it feels much more intuitive and straightforward than the current 10-second skip option. Hopefully, the developers don’t mess up the final version. We all know how Google loves making weirdly unresponsive apps, right? What do you think about the upcoming update? Will it improve the user experience significantly? Tell everyone what you think in the comments and share the announcement on social media.
