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Google makes a small change to the Android version of the YouTube app

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By Alan Friedman

Published: Sep 17, 2023, 11:41 PM

Google makes a small change to the Android version of the YouTube app

Google likes to fool around with YouTube like a person who can't stop scratching an itch. Unlike changes made to Google Maps that are actually helpful, some of the changes made to YouTube appear to be done for no real reason at all. Recently, the web version of the video stream moved from square corners to rounded corners on the thumbnails and the video player, and the feedback from YouTube users was not exactly favorable.

Now it appears that YouTube is making the same change to videos on the YouTube Android app. According to Android Police, it obtained a screenshot showing the rounded corners on YouTube thumbnails. The result is more blinding white light in the background which might lead some users to turn on Dark theme. On Android, open the YouTube app and tap the profile picture in the upper right corner. Next, tap on Settings > General > Appearance. A popup box will ask you to choose from using the device theme, Light theme, or Dark theme. Make your choice.

The current look of the Android YouTube app is on the left; the new look thumbnails can be seen on the right

Since the rounded corners extend to the video player on the web and not just the thumbnails, we can assume that this will be the case for the Android app as well. Right now, the new look hasn't been pushed out to many Android devices and it has yet to appear on my Pixel 6 Pro using Android 14 Beta 5.3.

On the YouTube website, the rounded corners do not appear when you are watching a video in full screen or in Theater mode. But once you return to Default view, they do return. Now we don't know exactly when Google plans on rolling this out more widely to Android users and whether it will follow through by rounding the corners on the iOS YouTube app as well.

If you don't have the YouTube app on your Android phone, you can download it right now from the Google Play Store by tapping on this link. If you want to install YouTube on your iOS device, press on this link.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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