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Sep 30, 2023

YouTube Music tests redesigned Now Playing UI with button carousel

The new button arrangement is only available to a select few listeners YouTube

The new button arrangement is only available to a select few listeners

YouTube Music may enjoy fewer subscribers than Spotify or Apple Music, but the service has come a long way since absorbing Play Music in late 2020. The music streaming app has picked up a few features in the recent past, with Apple announcing full compatibility for the service on its HomePod speakers not too long ago, while dedicated apps for the Apple TV and Garmin smartwatches are also said to be in the works. The Google-run service is now reportedly testing a new playback UI for its Android app, which rearranges all song-related actions into a carousel.

Downloading the latest version of YouTube Music (v6.04.53) from the Play Store or APKMirror doesn't seem to enable these new buttons yet, but one of our eagle-eyed readers spotted this on their app, indicating that this might be a server-side change rolling out to a select few. The new version combines the upvote/downvote, Save (Add to playlist), Share, Download, and Start radio buttons in a horizontal carousel right below the song and artist names.

Meanwhile, in its current form, buttons for Share, Download, Add to Playlist, and Start radio can be activated with a single tap of the album cover. These options can also be accessed via the three-dot menu on the top right of the Now Playing UI.

Newly added carousel in the Now Playing UI (left); Existing arrangement of buttons in the Now Playing UI (right)

It's not surprising that YouTube Music wants to make all of these options easily accessible with minimal taps. However, we're hoping for a better implementation, perhaps with larger buttons. These appear somewhat prone to accidental taps since they're positioned relatively close to each other. Hopefully, we'll learn more about this particular addition in subsequent YouTube Music versions for Android.

The YouTube Music team has been actively involved in enhancing the visual experience of its Android app. Some of its recent design additions include play counts for popular tracks — similar to Spotify — and a new under-development marker identifying when a song you're playing is a cover and not the original version, in case you didn't know that already.

Thanks: Nick

Chethan Rao is a news writer at Android Police, primarily focusing on weekend coverage. He has covered tech for over a decade and has a soft spot for the latest Android hardware. CR usually scours the internet for live cricket streams or watches NBA highlights in his free time. He also enjoys the occasional hour or two of console/mobile gaming.