What is YouTube's 'Play something' feature and how it works
What's the story
YouTube has announced a new feature aimed at improving user experience on its platform.
The video-sharing giant has added a "Play something" button in its Android app, 9to5Google reported.
The feature, which is still in the testing stage, plays random videos according to your viewing preferences and habits. This may include both Shorts and normal videos.
Usage
How does it work?
The "Play something" button appears in the lower right corner of the UI on YouTube's Android app.
Tapping on it will play a random YouTube Short matching your preferences. However, the next videos triggered by the feature may not be Shorts.
The feature is not widely available yet and has only been spotted on the Brazilian version of the app.
Feature evolution
A step toward seamless content discovery
The current 'Play something' button is an evolved version of a similar feature tested last year.
The previous version was embedded into the home screen feed, while the latest iteration seems to be a permanent fixture in the UI.
This development indicates YouTube's ongoing efforts to streamline content discovery and consumption for its users, by reducing decision-making friction when opening the app.
Availability
Limited rollout of the new feature
The new 'Play something' button has been spotted in version 19.5 of the YouTube Android app.
However, it is not yet available for all users running this version, suggesting a limited rollout at this stage.
This strategy is in line with YouTube's usual practice of gradually introducing new features to its user base.