YouTube Music freshens 'Now Playing' with a dual-view rework for next songs and more

YouTube Music
(Image credit: Chris Wedel/Android Central)
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What you need to know

  • YouTube Music is reworking its Now Playing screen, shifting around several elements to bring a "dual-pane" look.
  • The bottom of this view now features a swipeable tab, which lets users see their "up next" songs in a brief, four song tab or a full, extensive list.
  • The Lyrics and Related options have fallen into its repositioned bar of options, alongside the like, dislike, and other buttons.
  • In August, YouTube Music celebrated 10 years of fandom and teased two major updates headed to users: "taste match playlists" and live performance alerts.

YouTube Music is freshening up its "Now Playing" screen just as the week concludes, doing away with the older vibes.

The latest YouTube Music "Now Playing" screen update was spotted rolling out today (Sep 12) by 9to5Google. The updated screen now offers a swipeable split between your basic music information and your "up next" screen. Starting with the former, the Now Playing screen still displays the album cover in the center with your media controls right under that.

However, the toggles to switch between audio (the song) and its video are no longer present above the album cover. YouTube Music has also brought its row of elements (like, dislike, comments, add to playlist) down under the media controls. The app removed Lyrics from the bottom, placing them within this repositioned row of options.

At the very bottom, users will notice a classic floating bar that mirrors what you'd see when using gestures on Android. Pulling up (swiping up) will display the songs YouTube Music plans to play next. The publication notes that users can pull this up part way, which will show four brief songs, or pull it up all the way to see a more extensive list.

When fully open, this full list makes the Now Playing screen extremely compact, minimizing the cover at the top left with the title, artist, casting icon, and the three-dot menu beside it. This minimized state will also occur when opening your Lyrics and Related options, too.

YouTube Music brings people together

The publication reports that this update is slowly rolling out for mobile users (Android, iOS) today (Sep 12). It might take some time before it arrives, but it also seems that a download isn't necessary. So, keep your eyes peeled for when it appears on your device.

YouTube Music's just been cruising along as of late, but it did celebrate 10 years of Fandom in late August. The celebration was all about how YouTube Music has continued to bring listeners and their favorite artists together on one platform. Not only was it a time to party, but it was also a time for the platform to highlight an update for users. Soon, YouTube Music listeners will get the option to create "taste match playlists."

These playlists will combine the musical tastes of you and another person to create a unique list of songs that represents you both. Moreover, YouTube Music states it's preparing to introduce live performance and upcoming show alerts for artists. These alerts are said to appear when you're engaging in their content on the platform.

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Nickolas Diaz
News Writer

Nickolas is always excited about tech and getting his hands on it. Writing for him can vary from delivering the latest tech story to scribbling in his journal. When Nickolas isn't hitting a story, he's often grinding away at a game or chilling with a book in his hand.

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