Author: Matt Kapko / Source: CIO Credit: Thinkstock/Youtube NEW ORLEANS -- YouTube this week revealed a redesign of its desktop app that
NEW ORLEANS — YouTube this week revealed a redesign of its desktop app that strips out superfluous information and makes videos the primary feature of the viewing experience. “We’re rolling out a revamped design of our desktop application,” Neal Mohan, chief product officer at YouTube, announced at the Collision conference.
The redesign, which is available for preview at youtube.com/new, will be rolled out in stages during the next few months, according to Mohan. “The design principle is very basic, it’s very simple, which is we really want the technology and everything surrounding the content to simply fade out of the way,” he said. “A lot of what might have been distracting text and things like that in the current YouTube experience fades away when you’re consuming content. It has a much lighter, ephemeral feel to it.”
YouTube streams 1B hours of video per day
The Google-owned video platform, which has more than a billion monthly active users who stream at least a billion hours of video every day, strives to deliver a consistent experience across all platforms and devices, Mohan said. The new desktop version also includes an option for dark mode for users who prefer a black background and dark color palette instead of YouTube’s familiar bright white design.
The desktop site refresh comes less than a month after the company launched YouTube TV, a new digital television service that includes content from all of the major broadcasters and many cable networks. The $35 per month service also includes an unlimited cloud-based DVR and access to Google’s machine learning and search-driven recommendations, Mohan said.
“The traditional television viewing experience, in our mind, is one that frankly doesn’t keep up with all the great content that’s out there,” he said. YouTube is making a bigger push and investment in the living room because it believes it can improve on-demand services, make TV more personalized and include social components…
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