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YouTube Android app just upgraded casting to a TV in big ways
- Google is making it easier to interact with YouTube on your TV via your phone.
- The company clearly sees the phone as the centerpiece of digital entertainment.
The latest update to the YouTube app on Android and iOS helps address one of the biggest challenges to watching YouTube on your TV.
YouTube has been available on TVs for over a decade, but interacting with it is still a major irritation. Using a remote to painstakingly spell out the name of a video or search for your favorite content creator can be an exercise in frustration. The latest mobile YouTube app is designed to address that by better integrating your phone with your TV.
Read more: Your guide to all the YouTube services
According to the company, 80% of people already use a secondary device when watching YouTube on their TV. Once YouTube realized that, they quit trying to make the TV app the end-all, be-all solution and embraced the idea of the phone serving as a companion device.
“Now your phone will be synchronized to the TV, so you can directly interact with the video you are watching from the convenience of your phone,” writes Brynn Evans, Head of Design for YouTube on TV. “That means it’s easier than ever to read video descriptions, leave comments, share the video with a friend, or support your favorite creators by sending a Super Chat or becoming a member, all while you watch on the big screen.”
Google clearly sees a person’s phone as the centerpiece of their digital entertainment and plans to work on more features that will further that goal.