Last month, YouTube added a range of features that makes watching videos on the platform a better experience. Now, it looks like the Google subsidiary is testing a feature that encourages the use of the newly added features, somewhat. Or it’s just something to keep you on the platform, even when you’ve run out of things to watch.
This experimental feature comes in the form of a floating action button that just says “Play something”. According to 9to5Google, hitting the button “starts a video in the Shorts player”. While it is not limited to just playing shorts, even regular videos will be played in the same portrait interface. While it looks like the button plays a completely random video, the report makes the assumption that it takes your preferences into account to some degree.
Also mentioned in the report, this is something that happens on version 19.50 of the YouTube app on Android. We have the same version, but we’ve yet to see the button for ourselves. Which makes sense for a feature that’s still being tested as it doesn’t get rolled out to everyone.
Depending on your perspective, this test is not exactly a new one. Last year, Android Police reported on a similar feature being tested on YouTube. Except, rather than a button that just says “Play something”, the floating action button shows you which video has been selected to be played next, and it’s up to the user to decide if they want it to make it happen. This feature may also be familiar if you use Netflix on Android.
(Source: 9to5Google, Android Police)
