YouTube brings zoom-to-fill mode to the Pixel 2 XL

With more smartphones coming out with 18:9 displays, developers have to work around the new display aspect to get the most out of their apps. Google is helping out Pixel 2 XL users with a new YouTube mode just for them. The streaming app now has a zoom-to-fill mode. By default, the video will fit inside the screen but you can do the zoom in gesture to fill the entire display. To revert to the default size, all you need to do is make the zoom out gesture. This feature comes to the Pixel 2 XL via version 12.40 of the YouTube app.

Source: Android Police

Paid music streaming services to have bigger impact on Billboard charts in 2018

With paid streaming services changing the music landscape, it’s not surprising to us that Billboard is changing its ranking system to reflect this new reality. The streams from paid subscription services like Amazon Music and Apple Music as well as those hybrid paid/ad-supported services like Spotify and SoundCloud will have a bigger influence on Billboard’s charts in 2018.

According to a post on Billboard’s site, “Beginning in 2018, plays occurring on paid subscription-based services (such as Amazon Music and Apple Music) or on the paid subscription tiers of hybrid paid/ad-supported platforms (such as SoundCloud and Spotify) will be given more weight in chart calculations than those plays on pure ad-supported services (such as YouTube) or on the non-paid tiers of hybrid paid/ad-supported services.”

Google tries out autoplaying videos on YouTube app

While I’m personally not a fan of autoplaying videos in my apps, some prefer to have this as a matter of convenience. That’s why we aren’t surprised Google is experimenting with this feature in its YouTube app. Videos will start to play when you scroll through the Home section but you don’t have to be worried about being startled by audio as these videos will play without sound but will have subtitles overlaid. And if you’re worried about this eating up your data, only one video will play automatically at a time and you have the option to turn this feature off or have it work only on Wi-Fi. It must be noted that this feature isn’t available to all users as YouTube is just testing the feature out. Whether they roll this out to all users is something we don’t know right now.

Source: Android Authority

YouTube now has a ‘Breaking News’ section on homepage and in mobile apps

With people using YouTube more and more to see Breaking News, we aren’t surprised that the streaming service dedicates a section to it within its homepage and app. A Breaking News carousel should start showing up on top of your feed. On the web, it looks similar to recommended channels or Watch It Again carousel that’ll let you scroll through to see the current big events. On mobile, it shows up as a scrollable carousel between suggested videos. We don’t know if the content here is curated or populated algorithmically. And whether it’ll just show up when breaking news happens or it’ll stay up to keep us informed what’s happening around the world.

Source: The Verge