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YouTube is in the middle of a series of tweaks that range from semi-accidental to deliberate.
In particular, a behavior change in the latest Android app has disabled the ability to tap anywhere on the progress bar to advance to that point. Google says the new behavior is deliberate (via AndroidPolice), aligning Android with its iOS counterpart, and is meant to reduce the “frustration” caused by accidentally nudging a playing video. Users can still drag the position bar back and forth to manipulate the position of the video.
Q: Why is the search bar / progress bar / debugger experience changing? / I can’t tap to move the search bar / progress bar / debugger for some reason.
We heard that a single tap to move the progress bar caused a lot of frustration with accidental taps. Now you can tap, hold and slide the progress bar – the red dot will track your movement and once you lift your finger the video will jump to that point in the video.
Some users told us that the latest version of the YouTube app (15.42.36) reversed the change, but we have tested that version and it seems to have the exact same behavior. Since this appears to be a deliberate change, we can’t imagine any amount of update changing this “feature” before the big G is up and running.
This change in behavior comes along with a much-requested simplification for playback quality in the YouTube mobile app, which has now been refined to Higher, Data Saver, or Auto (the latter picks for you). An advanced option will take you to a selection of specific quality levels, ranging from 1080p (FHD) to 144p, that even dial-up users would find irritating. Although the quality can be controlled by video, there is also a settings page (clearly marked Beta) that allows you to change the default option for all your videos.
We first spotted evidence of YouTube’s default video quality settings in March, and Google said this feature was in limited testing at the end of June. Now, it looks like it’s finally rolling out for users, based on AndroidPolice.
Screenshots via AndroidPolice
In a further strange detail, it has emerged (via AndroidPolice) that YouTube is speeding up the playback of movies purchased at 480p, even if you bought an HD version, but only for those watching through the web interface. It appears to be a temporary problem caused by back-end issues, but as of yet, there is no indication when you will be able to watch your movies on the web in their glorious full resolution once again.
All in all, one of YouTube’s weirdest days, and it remains to be seen how this will all work out.
