YouTube Music Introduces Effortless Song Navigation in its Mini-Player
YouTube Music has been making efforts to catch up with other music apps like Spotify and Apple Music. While these apps have had various features for a while now, YouTube has been lagging behind. However, it is not giving up and is now introducing a handy new way to switch songs in its mini-player.
The mini-player, located at the bottom of the app when you’re playing music, is a common feature in most music apps. It usually includes buttons to pause and skip songs. But YouTube Music is doing something a bit different. Instead of a skip button, they’ve added an option to cast the music to another device. This means that if you want to change the song without going to the full-screen player, you can simply swipe left or right on the track. Swipe one way to go to the next song and the other way to go back to the previous one. This new feature provides effortless song navigation and adds convenience to the user experience.
This new feature was initially released for Android users in June, and now it is also available for iPhone and iPad users. In addition to the permanent mini-player upgrade, YouTube Music has added AirPlay functionality for iPhone users. Instead of a “next song” button, the mini-player now displays AirPlay (and Cast). This opens a menu that used to be in the top-right corner of the screen, creating a cleaner app interface with just a search bar and your account picture. This upgrade enhances the overall aesthetic of the app and provides a more streamlined user interface.
The play button has been relocated to the far right, which might take some time for users to get used to. However, the most exciting part of this update is that users can now swipe left and right to change songs, a feature that was not available before. This improvement significantly speeds up the song-switching process and enhances the overall user experience.
One important thing to note is that users can no longer swipe down on the mini-player to clear their playlist. To do this, users need to go to “Now Playing” and look for “Dismiss queue” at the top (previously located at the bottom on Android). While this process might seem a bit more complicated now, users will quickly adapt to this new method.
This new mini-player for iPhone is rolling out today with version 6.20 of YouTube Music. If users do not see it yet, they can try closing the app from multitasking, and it might show up.
Overall, this update introduces a more efficient and convenient way for users to control their music on YouTube Music. With effortless song navigation and enhanced UI elements, YouTube Music is closing the gap and providing a more competitive offering in the music streaming market. Users can now enjoy a smoother and more enjoyable music streaming experience on YouTube Music.