Samsung’s New Phones Let Owners Stream Live To YouTube

Samsung has just made it easier for consumers to broadcast live video. During a product reveal for its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ devices, the technology manufacturing giant announced the products would come with a feature called Live Broadcast, which lets users live stream video directly to YouTube.

Live Broadcast is built into the native camera app in Samsung’s new Galaxy devices, and allows video streams of 1080p resolution of up to 60fps. Galaxy owners will be able to start a live stream whenever they feel like it, or schedule one in advance. According to VentureBeat, these live stream feeds can be sent to another phone, tablet, or desktop computer, sent to groups of contacts or a select few, or broadcast to the public through YouTube Live.

Samsung’s push to include a live streaming feature in its new devices seems like a smart move for the manufacturer. Despite some research firms’ claims that live streaming apps aren’t as popular as they seem, several such apps are gaining widespread attention. Periscope, for example, just hit 10 million active users, and Facebook’s Live feature will soon be available to verified accounts.

With the inclusion of native, direct-to-YouTube streaming capabilities, Samsung is catering to the recent craze surrounding live broadcasting. And whether intentional or not, Samsung is also setting itself up as the go-to brand for consumers who want a simple live streaming option, without having to install extra apps or buy more equipment.