The rollout of the new feature started last Friday and is aimed at Android users.
The shortcut to the YouTube Music app started in 2019 in the form of a blue banner under the video window that plays music lyrics content. Back then, it said “ENJOY NOW” with a note — “Switch to YouTube Music, Included in your membership”. It’s actually not the most attractive button, especially since it consumes so much space that it’s a bit of a distraction. It’s now a “Want audio only?” prompt, and the update button next to it says “OPEN.” It’s still there, but the new YouTube Music logo button will make the feature even more prominent. One look at the logo immediately knows what it is for, rather than reading the text of the blue banner.
This new YouTube Music button appears in the upper-right corner of the video window, just before the autoplay icon. Tapping it will open YouTube Music to the same song the user is playing in the main YouTube app. Note, however, that it doesn’t start where the user left off. Instead, its playback position will always be the start of any content, which is somewhat practical for listening to music.
In addition to using the new icon and blue banner, there’s another option to switch to YouTube Music: Users can turn to the main app’s overflow menu. It can be found at the very bottom of the menu and says “Listen with YouTube Music”. Obviously, this requires more effort from the user, but it’s not a major concern for them. Having all three options in one app makes the functionality redundant. It’s a good thing that users can access the command in various ways, but some would question the need for all three options to coexist in one place.
