Today Google launched the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL with a couple of pretty enticing freebies onboard. One was a half-year of YouTube Music Premium for free, the other was unlimited photo storage with Google Photos (including original size photos and video, etc). Let's talk about the limits to these enticing bits before you jump in headfirst!
One Google promo video seems to have spilled the beans. Today we're at the big Google event in New York City and we've been treated to a video promoting all the products Google will show - before they show. This video included the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel Slate, a new stylus, and a Google Home Hub. All of these devices will be detailed further this morning, but for now, let's have a peek.
While some like to be completely immersed in what they are watching, there are those who might need to navigate away from their YouTube vid and look for something at the same time. That's somewhat ironically easier on the limited screens of phones and tablets but not on web browsers where you'll have to make do with opening tabs instead. Those days of YouTube tabs juggling finally comes to an end with the general availability of the YouTube Miniplayer on web browsers.
Google is making it easier for YouTube users to purchase movie tickets. The company has detailed a new ad experience for the platform that allows advertisers to include showtime listings for a movie when presenting its trailer as an advertisement. The company teases other interactive elements for ads, as well, such as enabling the viewer to book a trip from the ad.
YouTube has expanded its High Dynamic Range support to Apple's latest OLED smartphones, the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max. The new support comes only a few months after YouTube similarly launched HDR for the iPhone X. Upon updating, YouTube mobile users with one of these new models can watch the HDR version of videos when available.
YouTube VR finally made its way to Oculus GO this week at OC5. That's Oculus Connect, the 5th in a row, bringing with it a wide array of new games and experiences in each of the three Oculus VR headsets. This app brings the entire world of YouTube to Oculus GO in more ways than one.
A few years ago, Google launched YouTube Gaming, a dedicated app that hosted streamers and allowed gamers to find content aimed at them. Gaming has always been a big part of YouTube, but YouTube Gaming was Google's attempt to steal away some of Twitch's massive audience. Today, Google announced that it'll be shutting down YouTube Gaming, but for those who have spent the past three years building an audience on the platform, that isn't as bad as it sounds.
YouTube is tackling its inappropriate content issue by enabling parents to limit their kids to only pre-approved videos and channels. The new feature has launched in YouTube Kids, fulfilling a promise the company made back in April. As well, YouTube Kids now offers a new option created specifically for older kids, one that features a "less restrictive" experience than the version presented to younger users.
Watching a video recorded in a vertical orientation has long been an uncomfortable experience, but YouTube changed that last year with the arrival of proper vertical video playback. Now the company is back with another update, this one bringing the same experience to advertisements. When viewing on mobile, YouTube will start showing video ads in a vertical orientation.
Today we're talking about a conspiracy theory that says Google released fake Pixel 3 XL units into the wild just to throw leakers off the scent of their true device design. If this is true, it's awesome. It's fun, and it creates the potential for some big surprise on behalf of Google. It's as if we want Google to reveal a surprise device more than an already-leaked high quality product.
YouTube TV has a new option for customers who want to keep the service, but not watch it for awhile. As with Hulu, Netflix, and some other services, Google's livestreaming television option now enables users to temporarily suspend their membership while retaining the account. The pausing feature allows users to stop paying for the account (and lose access during that time) for up to six months.
This morning Google started blasting the Dark Theme for YouTube on Android devices of many sorts. Not ALL sorts, mind you, but many sorts, many sorts indeed. This update was long awaited by lovers of the dark and the mysterious and/or festering recesses of the human soul, and now they can be satiated. YouTube can now have its colors flipped to darkness.