YouTube’s latest beta test brings one of its best Music-exclusive features to the main Android app
While many Google apps use server-side updates to test out upcoming features with a select group of users, YouTube does things a little differently. The video giant has an easily accessible list of upcoming enhancements currently in beta, allowing any watchers —so long as they’re Premium subscribers— to sign up and use in-development tools a little earlier than usual. Its latest feature is now up for grabs, though its audience is a little more region-locked than you might expect.
The company is testing “Smart downloads” for its Android app, bringingone of its best tools from YouTube Musicto the main app (via9to5Google). Once enabled, Smart downloads automatically save recommended videos to your phone over a Wi-Fi network, so you’re ready to keep watching no matter where your life takes you. Downloaded content appears in the Library tab, alongside your watch history and playlists. With the maximum of videos downloaded each week capped at 20, you don’t need to worry about YouTube stealing all of your phone’s internal storage.
Unfortunately, not everyone can participate in this latest experiment, regardless of your Premium status. This feature shows up in YouTube’s “New” webpage orits “Try new features” menu hidden within the mobile app, but only for some users in Europe. It doesn’t seem like it’s live anywhere in North America or other regions around the globe.
Still, it does seem likely that Smart downloads are finally coming to the standard YouTube app. Sooner or later, any Premium subscriber will get the chance to store some auto-downloaded videos for themselves.
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