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What you need to know
- YouTube shared content from its latest test for mobile app users, which offers “Previews” for video discovery.
- Available through a cue card on the home page, users will find “five to ten” previews of videos that have already been recommended to them.
- After viewing, the user can choose to watch the entire video, save it for later, and more.
YouTube recently shared details about a test it will run with a small group of users, designed to help you see what a video is about.
Through your support pageYouTube’s updated list of experiments and testing features details the addition of “Discover videos with previews” (via Android Authority). While the idea of this may seem familiar, YouTube claims that it will bring these previews in a totally different way. For a “small percentage” of mobile app users, YouTube will offer these “Previews” through the entry card on the home page.
Users will receive “five to ten” previews with “short, sweet moments of videos that have already been recommended to them.” What YouTube doesn’t explain is as these previews will be seen. Will these be quick snippets in landscape format for these long-form videos or in a shorter style? Either way, it seems that YouTube wants these previews to only give you a sample before accessing the full content.
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Indicates that you can watch the full video immediately after previewing, add the video to your “watch later” list, and more. The folks at Android Authority make an interesting guess: This could be YouTube’s way of helping users navigate misinformation or misleading thumbnails. This could be one aspect, or YouTube is simply looking to attract even more people to its app.
YouTube has previews for your previews
YouTube started rolling out another feature to users this week, as part of its AI. “Remix” tool selection for shorts. Users were treated to “Reimagine” earlier this week, an AI feature that lets you take a scene from the short you’re watching and turn it into something different. Users can upload two reference materials, such as a photo of themselves and their pet.
The feature will prompt you for a written message or you can choose one offered by Gemini. The platform, through Google’s Veo video generator, will create a short eight-second clip of what you’ve “reimagined.” If you are uploading this video, YouTube Shorts will link to the original content. We expect more AI features on YouTube in 2026. The platform said this during your prospects for this year; however, it will ensure that the true creators are front and center.
Android Central’s opinion
This feature is a bit similar to what already exists on the platform. Right now, I can hover over a video on my computer or just “hover over” a video on my phone and it will start playing. Of course, there’s no sound, but it’s a preview to give you an idea of what the content looks like before you click to actually see it. I’m not entirely sure how the new YouTube test will work in practice, I’d have to do it to be sure. Right now, on the surface, it seems a little redundant.
