Google has recently announced significant enhancements to the YouTube app for consoles and TVs, aiming to improve the user experience. As part of these updates, the app will feature five new shelf/category types on the home feed, enhancing content organization and accessibility. Additionally, users will find new locations to watch YouTube Shorts, creating a more engaging viewing experience.
The improvements include the introduction of a podcasts tab and the capability to loop all types of content, which was previously limited to playlists. The varied shelves added to the homepage include “continue your search,” which displays users’ top three searches; “listen again,” showcasing previously listened songs; “live performances, remixes, and covers”; a shelf for “Primetime Channels” that highlights content from recently searched or watched channels; and “from your top channels,” consolidating shows from favored creators. Moreover, the addition of a Shorts row in the Watch Next feed and a dedicated Shorts shelf in the subscription tab will make it easier for users to access these quick videos.
In line with enhancing user engagement, Google has also integrated inline previews for channel, subscription, and topic pages, as well as immersive channel previews. While these updates are promising, some users, including myself, would appreciate the option to hide Shorts content on this app. This desire follows recent findings that Google is developing features to help users manage their Shorts consumption on the smartphone app.
Overall, it’s encouraging to see Google focus on improving the console and TV app, but there is still room for user-centric enhancements.
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