With the boom of the video industry, we love checking out videos on YouTube, but perpetually get pissed with the slow connections and the ridiculously expensive data prices.
Keeping specifically Indian users in mind, Google today announced a new app called YouTube Go, which allows users control of video downloads while promising to be faster and more affordable too.
Introducing YouTube Go: Maximise your fun without burning up data.
App coming soon, sign up now → https://t.co/MzGTV0FzmC #GoogleForIndia pic.twitter.com/RMaB3HjT76— Google India (@GoogleIndia) September 27, 2016
So for all the video enthusiasts on a data budget, YouTube Go seems like an interesting deal. The app, keeping in mind the Indian scenario, been designed to use as little data as possible, and also to work well in areas with unstable connections. The most exciting part is you can share videos with friends and family nearby without using any data using the YouTube Go app.
YouTube Go builds upon the Smart Offline feature that YouTube launched first in India earlier this year, a feature that allows you to schedule videos to be saved offline later at off-peak times.
With YouTube Go, Google is trying to enhance YouTube’s offline-feature and here are the things it offers:
- The app is designed to be offline first and work even when there’s low or no connectivity
- It lets you send videos to people near you over Bluetooth, means you can share them without having to worry about spending on mobile data. You can send and receive videos instantly and offline with others using the YouTube Go app.
- YouTube Go features video previews in the form of slideshows for each clip, so you can get to know what’s coming up before you stream or save it to your device.
- Besides that, you can see its file size before downloading, along with how much storage space you have left on your phone.
- YouTube Go homescreen also features trending and popular videos in your area.
YouTube product management VP Johanna Wright says in a statement, “YouTube Go was designed and built from the ground up with insights from India, in order to bring the power of video to mobile users in a way that is more conscious of their data and connectivity, while still being locally relevant and social.”
As of now, there’s no word on when the app will formally launch, but in the meanwhile, you can sign up to test YouTube Go and get notified when it arrives. Hope it’s soon!