YouTube's new 'Like' button animations bring a playful twist to your viewing experience

What you need to know

• A user on X drew attention to YouTube's promised Like button animations that are starting to appear more consistently for users.
• These new animations involve footballs, hockey pucks, and basketballs for related sports videos, and unique fun animations for thrillers, romance, and more.
• YouTube announced a major video player overhaul in mid-October for all devices, which made the player more "immersive" and "less intrusive."

YouTube's been overhauling its video-watching experience for users, and it's also bringing a new pop of fun that'll make you double-take.

Early this morning (Oct 28), software designer Andreas Storm on X compiled a couple of short videos highlighting YouTube's new "Like" button animations (via Android Authority). Each animation concerns a different type of video content. Think motor vehicles, cats, music, film, travel, and sports. When liking a video that falls into one of those categories, the "Like" button will play a unique animation that matches it.

Storm showed that liking a travel video briefly converts the thumbs up into a plane, shooting off into the sky. If you enjoyed that documentary about Africa's wildlife, hitting the like button turns it into a lightbulb.

When you get down to sports, videos for each league or sport (NBA, NFL, NHL, etc.) display an animation integral to each. Users should see a basketball, a football, a hockey puck, a soccer ball, and so forth. Storm adds that YouTube's animations don't stop there, as it has extended its work to cover entertainment genres like thrillers and romance.

These animations are already rolling out for users, though it's likely we're not all seeing them at the same time. There are roughly 20 like button animations that span a whole host of genres and video content categories.

YouTube's making modern moves

These animations go hand-in-hand with YouTube's recent major video player update that started rolling out across all devices two weeks ago. Of course, the core of this update is the video player, which takes on a more modern appeal that's meant to be cleaner and "more immersive" for the viewer. Many elements take on a transparent aesthetic, ensuring viewers don't miss a single beat.

YouTube also updated its Seeking capabilities for videos, meaning double-tapping to jump ahead is "less intrusive." These new like button animations were a part of this update, though YouTube was a little vague.

It essentially mentioned the core of the update: users will see animations that match the content they're watching, though it won't be everywhere.

YouTube's AI has recently advanced, too, as the platform introduced a new Labs experiment for music. While engaging with your favorite artist's content on YouTube, if you're in the test, you'll have access to "AI music hosts" that can offer commentary, facts, and trivia about what you're watching.