YouTube has introduced three dozen new features that do everything from improve mobile playback and search to expand creator tools. When the words “like and subscribe” are uttered by creators, the buttons will respond with animations. Bigger preview thumbnails and a “lock-screen” feature designed to prevent mishaps are also in the new toolset. The improvements build on the “new look and feel” YouTube debuted last year, adding “more modern design elements and features that helped our viewers feel more immersed,” the company says. Some of the improvements target smartphones and connected TVs, while others are for the web app.

“The company is making it easier for users to increase playback speed” with a pair of updates that let users “tap and hold anywhere on the player to increase the speed to 2x, and once they reach the part they want they can let go,” TechCrunch explains, adding that “when you are seeking the video to go back or go forward during the scrub bar and want to go back to the place you started, YouTube will indicate the point with a vibration.”

Engadget says the new features “aren’t game-changers by themselves, but they add up to an improved user experience,” calling screen lock “one of the more useful updates,” long awaited by anyone who’s ever been interrupted by a sudden, unexpected emission of high volume from a pocket or purse.

YouTube has also “added a stable volume feature, which ensures that the relative loudness of videos don’t fluctuate too much. This tool is automatically turned on once you snag the update,” per Engadget.

Another update, “when a creator says the words ‘like’ or ‘subscribe,’ YouTube will add a visual cue over the corresponding buttons as a way to prompt you to actually click or tap them,” according to The Verge, (which provides a helpful demo GIF). There are restrictions: the animation will be limited to three triggers per video, and or in videos under three minutes, won’t appear more than once.

“When you ‘smash that button,’ according to YouTube parent Google, you’ll be rewarded with a shower of ‘playful sparkles,’” the BBC writes, seeming grateful there are restrictions in place for creators tempted to overuse.

A YouTube blog post highlights a collection of new features.

Related:
YouTube’s New Ad Blocker Crackdown — What You Need to Know, Forbes, 10/18/23
Tons of Experimental YouTube Premium Features Are Coming to Everyone, Android Police, 10/18/23
YouTube Update Will Let You Search for Songs by Singing Them into Your Phone, TechRadar, 10/17/23
YouTube’s Latest Features Aim to Help Creators Make More Money from Shoppable Videos, TechCrunch, 10/18/23
YouTube Is Making It Easier for Users to Access News from ‘Credible’ Sources, TechCrunch, 10/18/23