Google has aligned its focus towards India and there are some great plans ahead. On Tuesday, the company launched YouTube Go – a new app that has been tailored to fit the needs of India. The Alphabet-owned web search titan made the announcement during a "Google for India" event.
YouTube Go is built from the ground up and is a result of extensive research done across 15 Indian cities by its team of engineers, designers and researchers. The app is currently in the test phase and will be rolled out to more users in the next few months, the company said.
"We've always believed that connectivity should not be a barrier to watching YouTube," Johanna Wright, YouTube VP for product management, said during the launch of the new app on Tuesday. "With YouTube Go, we're bringing the power of video to mobile users in a way that is more conscious of their data and connectivity, while being relatable and social," she added.
YouTube has made a series of changes to counter data and internet connectivity challenges that users face on a daily basis. In 2014, the world's largest video platform had launched YouTube Offline and recently released a new feature called Smart Offline to help users watch videos offline in the most efficient manner.
YouTube Go as a part of Google for India makes overall user experience a lot better. The interface is new and shows relatable content, the app is now offline first and works with low or no connectivity and is also cost-effective. Below are the key highlights of YouTube Go app, which makes it a must for Indian users with a smartphone.
Tailored content: YouTube Go features trending and popular videos in user's area, so users can relate better.
Video preview: Tap on a video thumbnail to get a preview of the video before watching or downloading it, hence saving data and time.
Resolution preference: Select the resolution of a video in which it can be saved for offline viewing at a later point or before streaming it.
Video sharing: Share videos with friends without using any data. Users can send and receive videos instantly and offline.
