YouTube is giving the desktop version of its video player a slight update, and through a bit of technical wizardry, the sites users can preview the changes for themselves. As first reported by Android Police, YouTube viewers can check out the YouTube player’s new look by editing the cookie YouTube places on their computers.
The most significant change to the new player concerns the bottom control bar, which now appears transparent, a la Funny or Die or Yahoo. Some of the buttons on the bar have been given smooth animations, and others have been changed to a toggle design. In summary, these changes make the desktop version of YouTube look more like its mobile counterpart.
The changes aren’t public yet, but Chrome users can access the new player with a simple extension. Here, via the Android Police article, is a complete set of instructions that allows YouTube aficionados to peek the new layout:
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Download EditThisCookie from the Chrome web store
Go to YouTube
Open EditThisCookie and click “VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE”
Change the value to Q06SngRDTGA
Celebrate
For more visual learners, Android Police has also linked to a video tutorial:
We don’t know when the new interface will go public, nor do we know whether its final form will be the same as the one available here. Should YouTube go with the version we’ve seen, it will be a refreshing update to the site’s UI, even if we can only assume the site’s more fussy users will find some reason to complain.
Screenshot via Gizmodo.
