The free version of YouTube works perfectly fine (despite the current ad blocker disaster), but if you use it a lot, the premium subscription is actually a pretty good deal. Not only can you skip most ads, download videos for offline playback, and access YouTube Music Premium, you also have the chance to try out new features before other YouTubers.
Today, YouTube added five new features for YouTube Premium subscribers — two of which are now widely available, and three more in beta that you can enable if you want. Here are the new features.
Jump forward
After a round of testing, YouTube is moving forward with its Jump Ahead program. The new feature uses artificial intelligence to analyze the “best” parts of a video, based on where most users browse while watching. When you double-click on the player window to skip ahead 10 seconds, you’ll now have the option to “jump ahead” to that “best” spot.
YouTube says this feature will be released first on the Android operating system, but will be available on the iOS app for premium subscribers soon.
Picture in Picture for YouTube Short Videos
Picture-in-picture is a convenient way to watch videos on platforms like YouTube while switching to other apps. Now, premium subscribers on Android will be able to use the picture-in-picture feature for short videos on YouTube similar to TikTok as well. I assume this feature will come in handy for short videos that don’t play on Android. also Short, but I can’t really see a strong use case for holding 15-30 second videos in picture-in-picture mode while doing things in other apps.
Smart Downloads for Short Videos (Beta)
If you sign up for this beta feature, YouTube will automatically download new Shorts videos to your smartphone so you can watch them both online and offline. The company didn’t specify, but I think these shorts will also work in PIP mode as well.
Conversational AI (Experimental)
YouTube also announced that it is bringing artificial intelligence back to Android devices. When available, the AI will appear below videos via the “Ask” button. You can ask the bot questions and request content similar to the videos you’re watching, even while a video is playing. I doubt this AI will be a game-changer in any way, but it’s an interesting experiment nonetheless.
New View Page UI (Beta)
The only change made to the YouTube web app for premium subscribers is a new beta watch page. YouTube didn’t share much about it, but it said the new watch page will make it easier to find new videos and interact with comments.
How to sign up for YouTube beta features
If you want to try out these three new experimental features, as well as any other experimental features YouTube is currently testing, head over to New YouTube page And approval.
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