YouTube has been around since forever. It is the most popular video hosting platform by far, but that doesn’t mean it is the best. For a long time, YouTube has been missing a number of features that users have been crying out for. Now, one long-awaited feature is finally coming to YouTube.
You can now watch a YouTube video on desktop and search for other videos at the same time
If watching YouTube videos while browsing the rest of the site sounds familiar, it is because it is. The feature has been available on the mobile versions of YouTube for quite some time now. Rather strangely, however, it has taken until now for the common-sense feature to reach YouTube on desktop. The new desktop feature is slightly different to the mobile version.
On a mobile phone, all you have to do to search while watching a video is select the video you want to play and then hit “back.” This will shrink the video down and show it playing in the bottom right of the screen while you get on with searching YouTube for more videos of cats being stupid. The desktop feature is a little more complicated to activate, though.
How to watch a YouTube video while searching for more videos
- Select the video you want to watch on YouTube and hit play.
- While the video is playing move the mouse over and look for the new Miniplayer icon next to the Settings cog.
- Click the icon to shrink the active YouTube video into the bottom right of the screen.
- Continue using the YouTube desktop site as normal while your video plays.
This is a simple enough update for YouTube, but it is one that users have been crying out for for a long time. Being able to watch videos while searching for new ones makes the whole YouTube experience much more user-friendly. It just leaves the question, why did it take so long for YouTube to add such a helpful feature?
Oh, by the way, if like us you want to be able to listen to music on YouTube while you’re using your phone for something else there is good news and bad news. The good news is that Google has added this very feature to YouTube. The bad news is that it is a part of YouTube’s new Premium service. If you want it, you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription.
