YouTube gains new search features, lets you dive straight into video chapters

Youtube Watching Video
Youtube Watching Video (Image credit: Alex Dobie / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • YouTube is rolling out new search and discovery features for the mobile app.
  • Users can now dive into specific chapters of a video directly from the results page.
  • YouTube will automatically translate videos into the local language for easier viewing.

Google has announced a few new changes coming to the YouTube app on iPhone and the best Android phones, which will make videos more accessible and improve the search experience.

Source: Google (Image credit: Source: Google)

The first new feature allows viewers to jump straight into a video chapter. From the YouTube app search results page, you'll find a bar underneath a video thumbnail that will display available chapters when selected. The chapters will be timestamped so you can dive into a specific part of a video instead of having to first open the video and scroll to the chapter.

It's a neat feature that gives users a more visual view of what each chapter might consist of before going into the video. Of course, this will only work on videos with chapters enabled.

To gain even more context about videos before watching them, Google highlights the ability to view short clips of videos when scrolling the app. This way, you can make a more informed decision about whether or not you want to watch the video. This is already available when hovering over videos on the web and appears to be available on the app home screen, so it seems it will finally make its way to search results as well.

YouTube will also start making videos more accessible by automatically translating video titles, captions, and descriptions to the local language "when relevant content in the local language isn't available." Google says that it will start with English videos first before expanding to other languages, hoping that this feature will allow creators to reach a more global audience.

YouTube Local Language Translation

Source: Google (Image credit: Source: Google)

Lastly, Google is "experimenting" with a new way to enhance YouTube search results "with website links and other formats from Google Search." This feature is currently limited to India and Indonesia, with plans to expand to more countries.

Derrek Lee
News Editor

Derrek is a long-time Nokia and LG fanboy who loves astronomy, videography, and sci-fi movies. When he's not working, he's most likely working out or smoldering at the camera.