In our long time coveringYouTube Music, the service has undergone innumerable changes, both in terms of functionality and visuals. Back in October,we reportedon a slightly updated Now Playing UI on Android that offered a gradient background rather than a fixed color. This feature is now widely rolling out, at least according to one individual on Reddit.
Posting on the YouTube Music subreddit, userAcrobatic-Monitor516shared a screenshot detailing the changes to the Now Playing UI. The difference is quite subtle and more apparent with album covers that have brighter colors.
A comparison of YouTube Music’s older Now Playing UI (left) with the revised version (right)
In line with the late October leak of this new gradient background, theUp Next,Lyrics, andRelatedtabs are floating icons and no longer connected to a single block, which is another nice touch. The changes are limited to the background color and the bottom bar, with the rest of the UI remaining mostly unchanged from the previous iteration. This change in color is one of those elements that can easily go unnoticed, even if you’ve had it on the app for a few days.
While these visual tweaks are certainly welcome on the YouTube Music app, the podcast integration on the streaming service has been lacking in comparison to Spotify andApple Music. Toward this end, YouTube Music was recently seen working on enabling the long overdueRSS feed support for podcasts. More broadly, Google said it is positioning YouTube Music as the “centralized podcasting destination,” effectively marking thedeath of Google Podcasts.
While one could argue in support of the consolidation ofmusic and podcasts into one app, the counterpoint is that some people prefer to keep the two content types separate. No matter which side you fall on, Google Podcasts will be gone byApril 2024, adding to a long list of products reaching the Google graveyard, with recent entrants beingGoogle DomainsandGoogle Jamboard. All of this comes as we’re still not quite overStadia’s abrupt exitfrom over a year ago. As we head into 2024, a few more Google products could join thedreaded list.
