YouTube Revamps Its Mobile App, Plans To Enter Into Virtual Reality

The world’s most popular hub for watching video content has redesigned its mobile map, adding new notification features and granting users more control over uploaded videos on the go. On top of that, YouTube is also planning to support three dimensional, 360 degree video content before this year ends. This later part is intriguing because it would strongly suggest that the Google owned video content website is definitely heading to full virtual reality territory.

The YouTube mobile app now sports a more streamline work, with the most frequent ways viewers watch YouTube in three new tabs. The app now also features creation tools, which let users trim clips, incorporate filters, insert musical tracks, and of course, upload video content all within the environment of the mobile app. Moreover, the enhanced YouTube app now provides a way for users to choose to be alerted whenever there is a new video being posted on a specific YouTube channel.

As for its support for 3 D, 360 degree video content -- before the arrival of 2016, people may already be able to immerse themselves in full virtual reality experiences via YouTube, with the help of devices such as Google Cardboard or the upcoming Oculus Rift. Plus, YouTube will also put Jump cameras in all its YouTube “Spaces.” These jump cameras are needed to capture video footage required to make a full virtual reality experience. In Spaces, creators can make use of jump cameras, as well as sets, in producing their VR videos.

All of these were revealed by Susan Wojcicki, chief executive officer of YouTube, via a keynote speech delivered during this year’s VidCon (an annual online video conference) held in the city of Anaheim in Orange County, California.

Online video, or any video content that is produced to be uploaded and viewed on the web, has really exploded in the last decade. It has gotten so big that traditional TV companies are already reevaluating how they should deliver their services to audiences worldwide. In the last twelve months or so, we have seen a cavalcade of new services that aim to bring traditional TV channels into the Internet. A prime example of this is HBO Now, which was unveiled in March early this year, and subsequently launched last April. Meanwhile, YouTube itself has become a breeding ground for celebrities, with various so-called YouTube stars crossing from the interwebs into mainstream culture, e.g. Bethany Mota. As more and more people demand digital ways of consuming video content, more video is becoming more available outside traditional means, such as broadcast companies and cable TV providers.

Also, it helps that people are no longer as dependent on boob tubes when watching videos. Instead, they are “tuning in” more via their mobile devices. As explained by Wojcicki, more than 50 percent of YouTube’s views consist of views on smartphones and tablets. 

YouTube itself has become a very effective drawer of viewers, especially those with ages between 18 years old and 49 years old. As a matter of fact, YouTube has beaten every cable network in reaching this particular demographic.