Back in late 2016, Google announced its plans to release a new YouTube app that will allow users to minimize data usage when watching and sharing videos.
That time has come the new app dubbed, YouTube Go, is now available for you to try out.
YouTube Go
The YouTube Go application was designed specifically for people in countries where internet access is limited, slow or expensive.
The new app works more or less like the regular YouTube app but comes with a bit less animations and a more simplistic design.
When selecting a video for viewing, it will give a preview of the video in the form of a GIF and will give you two options to choose from.
- Save
- Play
Streaming, Downloading & Sharing
You will be able to choose either of these options in either Basic or Standard settings. The resolution isn’t available for these two settings but our information reveals that the Basic one comes in at 144p whereas the Standard one is 360p. There is no option of HD video playback and rightly so, as the targeted users want to conserve data.
One of the most interesting feature I noticed in the app was the option to share your saved videos with your friends over Bluetooth so that they can also watch it without using any data (Google says 15KB will still be used as a security check).
The new YouTube Go app does not allow you to either stream or save videos in 720p or higher. That might be an annoyance to some people but it should be kept in mind that the app was designed for countries with reduced and limited data access.
Who is it for?
Other than that, design wise, YouTube Go has a very simple design. Also considering that the minimum Android version that you can use it with is Jellybean 4.1, it is pretty much understood that it’s designed for low end devices.
If you have unlimited data and/or a good, stable Wi-Fi connection, then you are better off with using the main YouTube app. Otherwise, you can have the YouTube Go app handy for when you want to share YouTube videos with others or when data is limited.
Availability
YouTube Go isn’t available for download on the Play store in Pakistan just yet. However, if you want to download it and take it for a spin, download it by clicking on this link.
Nice !
great
Word of warning: The app is very heavy on the permission side of things. Permissions include rights to record audio at any time, contact modifications, modifying system settings, getting your precise location, reading your text messages and contacts.
In fact, it is necessary to register a phone number on first launch of YouTube Go to use it at all . Why that is needed? So that YouTube Go can scan the contacts regularly to show you friends that use the app.
Damn, that is creepy.
144 p pay b video dikhayi day jati hai :p
I downloaded this app yesterday but none of the videos are shown as downloadable.