Google is adding support for new gestures in the YouTube app, making it easier to navigate between videos. This function will allow users to slide the screen to the right to go to the previous video, or to the left to see the next recommended one.
It’s a fairly simple feature, but it should make it easier and faster to navigate videos for mobile users, which in turn means that Google can earn more money with advertising. Sliding gestures will work during full screen playback.
The YouTube app has been gaining support for gestures over time, including the ability to slide down while playing a video to minimize it and continue browsing the app (and then slide up to restore the video), or double tap to jump for several seconds back and forth in a video.
Swipe gestures were first seen in the YouTube application for Android almost half a year ago, but this feature will debut in iOS. Google didn’t provide a release date for the Android feature. On Apple platform, the launch begins this week.
The company in 2018 added other features aimed at mobile users, including short-form creator content called Stories, dark mode, auto-playing videos on the mobile app’s homepage and more.