The new UI isn’t widely available just yet.
What you need to know
- YouTube on Android TV and other leading smart TV platforms is gaining a new playlist UI.
- Until now, YouTube would simply play the entire playlist when users clicked on a playlist.
- The feature appears to be rolling out via a server-side update.
Google has finally decided to change the way the YouTube app handles playlists on the best smart TVs. As reported by the folks at 9to5Google, the latest update for YouTube on Android TV / Google TV introduces an all-new playlist UI. The same UI is also rolling out to other smart TV platforms such as Samsung’s Tizen OS.
Instead of playing the entire playlist, YouTube on smart TVs will now display the playlist name and other relevant details on the left side of the screen. The list of videos included in the playlist is shown on the right side. As can be seen in the screenshots below, the new UI also includes “Play all,” “Loop,” and “Save to Library” options.
The new playlist UI apparently rolled out to Android TV and Google TV devices with the v2.15.006 update to the YouTube app. On Samsung smart TVs, the change seems to have rolled out with version 2.1.498. However, the feature appears to be rolling out to users via a server-side switch. This means you won’t be able to access it just by updating to the latest version of the YouTube app available for your device.
The new playlist UI for smart TVs comes just weeks after Stadia rolled out support for 4K streaming on YouTube at up to 60fps and in HDR. Previously, Stadia’s YouTube direct streaming feature only supported up to 1080p resolution.
Chromecast with Google TV
$40 at Best Buy
$39 at Walmart
$40 at Google
The Chromecast with Google TV is still among the most impressive streaming devices you can buy. It offers an intuitive Google TV UI, smooth performance, and a well-designed remote control that includes a dedicated Google Assistant button.