Google Announces YouTube Go, A New App For Saving And Sharing Videos Offline

Google has announced YouTube Go, a new app designed to consume less data when watching videos on YouTube. The company says that it will first be available in India befire rollig it out in other areas, including the United States and Europe, early nnext year.

Google says YouTube Go is an app designed to be offline first, which means it will work with low or without internet connection. The app has four major functions: downloading videos to view it later offline, making recommendations on a new user interface, showing how much data will be used when viewing videos and sharing videos with someone nearby, according to 9To5Mac.

First up is the offline mode. This was first introduced back in 2014. With this mode, users will be able to download videos at home, then watch them later offline without buffering or worrying about consuming too much data. Next is the user interface which will have recommended videos that are currently trending in the user’s area.

The great thing about this is that the videos also have GIF-like previews. Users can simply tap on a thumbnail and it will show a quick preview of what the video is about. This gives users the choice to watch a video immediately or skip it to ensure that they don’t waste data on a video they don’t actually want to watch.

YouTube Go will also be able to show users how much data a video will consume based on resolution. This lets a user decide whether to watch a video now or to save it for later based on the data it will consume in low quality and standard quality.

The last and probably the most social feature on the YouTube Go app is the ability to share videos to nearby friends. Users will be able to send and receive videos even when they’re offline. The feature works over Bluetooth, but only videos saved will be shareable.

The idea behind YouTube Go is to make sure everyone is able to watch YouTube videos any way they want it, be it online and offline. This is also for users who might be in regions that have poor cellular networks, or those who have very restrictive data caps. “We’ve always believed that connectivity should not be a barrier to watching YouTube,” the company's VP of Product Management Johanna Wright said on the official Google blog.