You could say that they are new YouTube widgets for Android, although they have already completed a little more than 7 months since its launch. The new tools for customization and management of the streaming app are very popular, and make it much easier to control the app.
We tell you how to activate them, what they are for and what news they bring when it comes to controlling how you see content on YouTube. The widgets were updated at the end of November last year and are now available on almost all devices. With an interface adapted to the new visual style of Android, how to get the most out of them in a matter of minutes.
YouTube widgets on Android to improve the service
YouTube is the famous streaming application and platform owned by Google. Like the mobile operating system, over the years it has been incorporating new tools and alternatives for control and operation. Among the recent innovations we find two widgets that improve the control experience for users on mobile phones and tablets alike.
What do the new YouTube widgets offer?
First of all, a direct option appears called "Search YouTube". It is a search bar in the form of a widget that you can place on any screen of your mobile and will allow you to do a direct search like in the web browser, but directly from the YouTube servers. Excellent for saving time, since before we had to open the application and use the native search engine to navigate among the available videos.
When you browse through this new widget, the results are directly opened from the app. Keyboard mode is automatically activated, ensuring that all you have to do is type your search terms to see what videos are on that topic.
In addition, another of YouTube's new widgets for Android includes quick actions to control the application. Not only content search, but depending on the size of the widget you can find additional functions such as search and quick actions.
The interface of the new widgets
The design of the new YouTube widgets on Android it responds to the Material You style, and they take advantage of Dynamic Color to maintain a unified aesthetic with the new version of the operating system.
The arrival of the new widgets was accompanied by other improvements and revamps in the style of YouTube, such as the addition of Dark Mode and improved playback quality. The two new widgets, the quick actions widget and the search bar, are 3x3 and 4x1 in size respectively.
The quick actions included in the new widget are:
- Home (to quickly access the home screen of our YouTube account and view the feed).
- Shorts (to open the section dedicated to short content that the platform has).
- Subscriptions (which shows the list of channels to which we are subscribed).
- Library (where we will see the last videos we watched, saved lists and other content that we have been storing).
Advantages of the interface through widgets
From Android 12 onwards, Google has been working on unifying different aspects of its main services and applications. Thanks to the Material You visual style, the experience is becoming increasingly polished, with quick, clear and versatile access to different services and interactions. For this reason, the inclusion of these two new widgets that facilitate access and control of basic YouTube functions is appreciated.
How to activate the new YouTube widgets?
Like any other widget, the process to place them on the screen consists of press for a few seconds on a free corner of the home screen. The complementary actions menu will appear and we select the widget catalog. Swipe until you find the YouTube ones and place them however you like.
The use of dynamic colors helps the widget look good regardless of the image we have in the background. A translucent effect that helps to generate a greater sense of integration with respect to the entire device.
Los buttons have a slightly more rounded look, with the same adaptation to backgrounds and dynamic color as the search bar. Adding the possibility of including confirmation boxes with the responsive design, the YouTube experience with these new widgets is, to say the least, interesting.
Conclusions
Google does not stop updating and bringing news to its main services. Over time, new tools, aesthetic and mechanical changes arrive to continue enjoying everything from Google Maps to streaming videos with YouTube. These two new widgets have, at the heart of their design, the advantage of offering us dynamic, fast and versatile access to different actions that we normally carry out on YouTube, but that we can now open with a single touch, significantly speeding up and improving the experience. user and interaction times with the app.
