YouTube is adding a bunch of new features to its mobile apps, including updated player controls, new gestures and other features that are aimed at making the viewing and controlling of videos easier.
A new gesture will work to enable or disable a full-screen video with a simple swipe. Instead of tapping the button or rotating the phone, like users had to do before, now swiping up on the video window would switch on the full-screen mode, while swiping down on it would exit the full screen.
Some additional buttons are also introduced to the video player, including a closed caption toggle that is displayed on the overlay menu along with the toggle that would turn on or off the auto play video. Users can also tap on the timestamp of a video to switch between viewing the time that has elapsed in a video and the remaining time.
Moreover, an expanded version of the video chapters features will now show all the chapters for a video, including the preview thumbnail. The option sort of resembles a DVD menu.
Lastly, a set of suggested actions have been added as well, that are basically prompts to recommend users certain actions like rotating the phone or using a VR headset for better experience while watching a video. More suggested actions will also be added to the list in the future, according to YouTube.
