Youtube is set to revolutionise its mobile apps later this year, as the company plans to roll out an update that allows for offline viewing of videos.
Right now smartphone users have to be connected to the internet via wi-fi or a 3 or 4G connection to be able to view Youtube clips. This latest version will allow people to download and store videos on their phones for a short amount of time. That should mean the end of potential interruptions to a connection which may occur on commutes into work and such.
Interestingly, this is the first instance of Youtube itself letting users download videos for storing, which is something that goes against the company’s own terms of service. It is possible, however, to store Youtube clips via the user of third party applications. In the past, offline viewing was made possible in an Android app that allowed precached videos to be displayed, as long as the first second of the video itself was watched online. This upcoming system sounds like a much simpler way to sort things out.
You can expect this new feature in November, so start favouriting some videos for the commute. Updates to the app, which currently runs on iOS and Android, have been rolling out frequently throughout the year. It has yet to reach the likes of the Windows Phone Store or BlackBerry’s alternative, though is available via third party apps.
Source: TechCrunch
