YouTube Mobile App Remote Control Update Facilitating YouTube Parties

Google may be stalling the implementation of a YouTube mobile app on Windows phones, but that isn’t stopping the video sharing giant from making some fun updates to its existing mobile product. The YouTube app developers have unveiled a new remote control functionality, allowing users to employ their Androids as control devices for playing videos on digital TVs.

YouTube has released a blog post explaining the app’s new function. Users can use a “send to TV” button to play their favorite videos on their LG, Sony, and Panasonic TVs, with the ability to control the video as one normally would through the app.

More importantly, the app now has several features that foster YouTube as an interpersonal activity rather than a solitary pursuit. Users can search YouTube without stopping the current video, allowing easy construction of a playlist. Other YouTube app users

can also add their favorite videos to the queue, creating a collaborative playlist without having to stop the current video.

Those features make a true ‘YouTube party’ possible. Instead of killing everyone’s collective vibe as you search for another video, YouTube partygoers (yes, this is a thing) can now revel in a steady stream of videos while still being able to add their two cents. There’s no more asking if you can have the computer for just a second to show everyone a cool video: if you can find it, you can add it to the playlist.

Clearly, it’s time for a celebration. YouTube party, My apartment, 9 PM tonight. Bring your apps.