The YouTube app on TV streaming devices had always felt like playing hopscotch over a bunch of tires. Streaming apps need to be clean and clutter-free, since you’re using them through a remote control, a relatively clunky interface compared to a computer’s cursor or a handheld device’s touchscreen.
Even though Google (owner of YouTube) has been teasing a major redesign of its YouTube app (not the YouTube TV app, which is a separate subscription service for watching live TV) for most of 2025, it finally arrived on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
the new look
Video titles now move to the top left of the player. You can no longer click it, which on the face of it sounds like the removal of a feature, but it’s one less thing to scroll through (either on purpose or accidentally) with the remote, so ostensibly it helps clean things up.
There’s a new button titled “description” that takes over from the clickable title to let you view a video’s comments, metadata, and its creator’s information.
While the video is playing, selectable functions are now grouped into three sections. On the left, you’ve got channel, description, and subscribe. In the center, you have pause, previous, and next. And on the right, you have like, dislike, comment, save, closed captions, and settings.
The subscribe button is always visible now, and it’ll change to show when a video is pay-gated. For upcoming live streams, it’ll instead display “notify me.”
When you’re watching live sports, you’ll now see a “multiview” button to let you view several games at once. YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscribers also get a display mode that’ll show you lyrics and artwork, if they’re available for that song.
It’s all overdue, but as the saying goes, better late than never.
The post The YouTube App on Your TV Just Got a Much-Needed Upgrade appeared first on VICE.
