Every Internet user is possibly familiar with YouTube, now the world's most popular video-sharing and hosting service. Today, it has billions of users globally. YouTube has introduced a new feature to simplify content discovery: the “Play something” radial floating action button (FAB).

This feature allows the audience to go directly to a randomly selected video for consumption. In this article, the “Play something” FAB will also be described in detail and contemplate how it benefits YouTube users.

What is the “Play something” FAB?

The “Play something” button in the YouTube mobile app is a feature presented as a Floating Action Button (FAB). 

An FAB is a large circular button placed in the screen's lower right-hand corner or elsewhere in the interface design. It is also an emblematic Android design pattern. This is widely applied to mobile apps to indicate the main action for which a given screen is designed.

When exploring YouTube, the “Play something” FAB can review the recommendations list for a certain video. They may watch something randomly without searching for a specific video.

Visuals:

As a result, we cannot display images /screenshots based on the picture within this text/Word document. However, I can describe what the FAB looks like:

This is a circular button, and it mostly has a black background to offset other standardized YouTube features.

It is positioned on the right side of the application and features an inverted triangle as a white icon with a play symbol.

The white “Play something” text is beside the play icon.

How Does it Work?

Finally, the convenience of the “Play something” FAB makes it easy to begin streaming videos as soon as possible. Here's a breakdown of its functionality and the user experience:

Functionality:

Pushing the “Play something” FAB triggers the jury’s watching of a randomly chosen video by YouTube recommendations. The type of video that plays depends on a few factors:

Shorts vs. Regular Videos: If YouTube’s recommendation systems determine you’ve been watching Shorts, tapping FAB will likely open the video inside the YouTube Shorts interface. There will be a vertical video with a scrolling mechanism.

Personalized Recommendations: “Play something” suggests videos based on what you have watched on the site, subscribed to, and interacted with. This means you’ll probably be recommended more videos from the subscribed channel or topics you have participated in.

User Experience:

Once a video starts playing after tapping the FAB, the user interface presents familiar YouTube elements:

For Shorts:

Swipe Up/Down: How is one Short transformed into another?

Like/Dislike buttons allow you to state your opinion about the current Short.

Comment button: To view and leave comments.

Share button: To disseminate the Short to other users.

Channel icon/name: To effortlessly return to the channel that has shared the Short.

For Regular Videos (Portrait Interface):

Play/Pause button: To control playback.

Volume control: To adjust the audio level.

Progress bar: To view the progress of the video and move to another segment of the video,

Like/Dislike buttons: To give an opinion about the video.

Comment section: To view and leave comments.

Share button: This is for disseminating it among people.

Channel information: To see its name and the subscribe button.

Advantages of the “Play something” FAB

The "Play Something" FAB offers several key advantages for YouTube users, primarily centered around convenience and personalization:

Convenience:

Instant Playback: The main advantage is that you can begin viewing videos at a swifter pastime. One click means that you are instantly taken straight to a video.

Effortless Discovery: It eliminates decision-making problems. It includes presbyopia, which may result from the huge number of videos available in the library. But if you want to watch something without typing out the name of a video, using the “Play something” FAB is just the thing.

Seamless Transition: The switch from scrolling through the home feed to watching a video is instantaneous. This makes it more lively and interactive for users.

Personalization:

Tailored Recommendations: The “Play something” feature is not utterly random. It utilizes YouTube’s intense recommendation system to choose videos according to your watch history, subscriptions, and channel activities. This means that you will be presented with material that interests you.

Discovery of Similar Content: Not only is the “Play something” FAB helpful, but it can also help guide you in an entirely different direction. The first video may show you new channels, topics, or contributors you would not have encountered.

Caters to Different Content Formats: The feature self-learns your mode of watching and helps you decide whether to serve the Shorts or the normal videos as per your choice. This guarantees that your experience depends on the type of content you often prefer.

Testing Phase

It’s important to note that the “Play something” FAB is still in the testing or experimental stage. This means that YouTube has not announced it. People can only find it through special links; sometimes, it is not completely functional. In testing, features may evolve and disappear or be released for some users and not others.

Current Status:

The “Play something” FAB is currently, as of the current information, still under testing with a few users. The quiet launch allows YouTube to take feedback, discover glitches, and adjust the feature before rolling it out. Unfortunately, Google has not provided word on when this feature will be available publically.

Version:

The “Play something” FAB has been identified in the YouTube app's version 19.50 for the Android operating system. If you have not noticed this feature, it is worth knowing if you are still using an older application version. When your YouTube app has the latest version, chances are high that you might get a fix for new features currently in testing. 

Future Rollout

The “Play Something” FAB is still in the test phase. However, if the feedback is positive, it will probably become available to all YouTube users.

YouTube Innovations include experimenting with different aspects of its service with some users before expanding the change to others. This helps them obtain important data and implement all relevant changes according to the product's usage.

They have found feedback to be an important component of creating and subsequently enhancing various features. If you can access this “Play something” FAB, YouTube is keen to give feedback through the usual channels. However, it may be limited if it is available to you. 

The Final Word

The “Play something” FAB could be characterized as a potential revolution in how users engage with content on YouTube. This feature will allow people to sample any random video quickly. There is no need to decide what to watch next, adding a more idle nature to the platform's usage. 

This can be helpful despite the “Play something” FAB still being in the testing phase. Thus, we urge users to try this feature and give YouTube feedback. This feature and its future depend on what is provided to the YouTube community and us.

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