YouTube Mobile App Will Soon Adapt To Any Video Format To Fill The Screen

During VidCon 2017, YouTube announced that it will be revamping how videos are shown on its mobile app. The update will have all videos fill a mobile device’s screen no matter what format it is in.

Soon, the YouTube app will be able to dynamically adapt to videos regardless of how it’s been shot. This means that if a video uploaded on YouTube is in a vertical format, the video will be presented in that format by filling up the user’s screen. Currently, videos that aren’t in the standard 16:9 aspect ratio are presented with black bars on the sides of the videos.

“Perhaps our most important job is to show off your videos in the best possible way, no matter what format you choose to shoot them in,” YouTube said in a blog post. “Who cares if they’re vertical or horizontal? Shot on a mobile phone or DSLR? Square, 4:3 or 16:9?”

When viewing a video in a different format, it will first be shown as a cropped video to fit YouTube’s traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. To view the video in its true format, users will simply have to tap on the video once. Users can also view the video in fullscreen mode. If the video was uploaded as a vertical clip, the video will be shown vertically even in fullscreen.

"The YouTube mobile app will dynamically adapt to whatever size you choose to watch it in. That means if you’re watching a vertical, square or horizontal video, the YouTube player will seamlessly adapt itself, filling the screen exactly the way they should," the company said.

YouTube didn’t say when exactly the software update will arrive for its app, but it did say that it should be available to users “in the coming weeks.”

YouTube will also be revamping its desktop site. Last month, Google previewed the new YouTube user interface to some of its users. The new desktop site UI featured a cleaner and refined look, and even featured a Dark Mode,a s pointed out by Android Authority. YouTube says that this new user interface will soon be the new permanent look of its desktop site.

YouTube also announced at VidCon 2017 that it has 1.5 billion logged in viewers that visit the site every month. The company also said that users spend an average of over an hour a day watching videos on mobile devices alone.

In addition, YouTube announced a new virtual reality format for its site that’s called VR180. This new format cuts down the usual 360-degree format by half, making it accessible to more users. VR180 lets users record videos in 180-degrees, and Google has also introduced new cameras capable of shooting this kind of videos. The company says that it developed VR180 alongside’s Google Daydream VR team.

YouTube TV will also be expanding its availability to ten more markets in the United States. This includes Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale and Washington, D.C. YouTube TV will be available in those markets “in a couple of weeks.”

Lastly, the online video giant also announced that it will have a new slate of YouTube Red Originals. YouTube says that its is working on 12 new projects, while also renewing existing programs. So far, YouTube has launched 37 original series and movies for YouTube Red.