Google updates the look and feel of YouTube with "cleaner and more lively design"

Google is rolling out a new look and several features for YouTube to offer a more modern and immersive viewing experience and to provide a “cleaner and more lively design” on the video streaming platform. Google says these changes are being introduced after hearing input from “thousands of viewers around the world.” However, as explained by the company, YouTube remains the same at its core.

The updated YouTube experience will use dynamic color sampling to ensure that the app background color adapts to match the video. This new subtle effect will be available on the web and mobile in the dark theme sometime in the future.

Google is also planning to bring some updates to Dark Mode. The dark theme on YouTube will be darker, making colors truly pop on your screen. It will be available on the web, mobile, and Smart TVs in the coming few weeks.

YouTube has also announced “pinch to zoom” and “Precise seeking” to all users starting today. On your Android and iOS handset, you can now easily zoom in and out of a video. The video stays zoomed in/out if you do not change it. Also, some new gestures have made their way to YouTube. You can now simply drag or swipe up to bring the rows of thumbnails in the video player to get to the exact part in each video. Google is calling it “Precise seeking.”

Some changes on the YouTube watch page are also being rolled out. For example, links in video descriptions will change to buttons. Actions such as the like, share, and download buttons have gone through a design revamp to minimize distractions. The updated subscriber button is more accessible and is no longer red, but its new shape and high contrast make it stand out, as Google explained in its official YouTube blog post.

Google has said that these changes will be rolled out gradually to all users in the coming few weeks, though an exact timeline is not available.