YouTube Announces Improved Interactivity On Its TV App

Last Updated on June 2, 2022 by Anu Joy

YouTube has announced a cool new feature for the YouTube TV app, which will offer better interactivity features. You will soon be able to easily connect your Android phone or iOS device to your TV with this new function.

How YouTube Tried To Improve Interactivity On The TV App

The YouTube app for TV debuted 12 years ago, and the company has been rolling out new features over the years to improve the TV watching experience. As the popularity of the video platform increased over the years, the number of viewers watching YouTube on TV rose. As of January 2022, viewers consumed more than 700 million hours of YouTube content on TV every day.

As its user base grew, YouTube says that it found it challenging to simplify the experience of YouTube on TV. While the YouTube app for smartphone includes a variety of features, such as commenting and liking the video, these functions have been absent for the TV app. It isn’t easy to use the remote controls to navigate as there’s less space to work with. Additionally, many TVs lack built-in web browsers. These are some obstacles faced by the company when it comes to upgrading its TV app.

While working on a solution to this, YouTube came across an interesting piece of information—more than 80 percent of viewers reported that they use another digital device while watching TV. The video platform also observed, “people were not only simultaneously opening the YouTube mobile app, but were also engaging with the video (e.g., liking, subscribing) via their phones—all while playing the same video on the TV”.

This led YouTube to pivot from its original plan of trying to fit features from the mobile app on the TV app. Instead, it made better sense to use the phone to enhance the YouTube TV experience. Starting today, YouTube is introducing a new feature which will make it easy to connect your Android phone or iPhone to your TV, with no casting involved.

How To Connect Your Mobile App With YouTube TV App

To get started, you will have to sign in to the same YouTube account on your phone and TV. Then, fire up the YouTube app on your TV as well as your phone. When a prompt pops up, click “Connect”.

This will sync your phone to the TV, which will enable you to interact with the video through your phone. This will make it easy for you to like, comment, and share the video, all while watching it on your TV.

There’s no word on whether the feature will come as a server-side rollout or if you will have to update the YouTube app on your phone. Additionally, YouTube announced that it is testing new designs for the video watch page, with a focus on browsing and shopping for products that are featured in videos