YouTube announced a significant series of updates to its short-form video product, YouTube Shorts, on Thursday. The enhancements include an increase in video length, allowing creators to upload videos of up to three minutes, as well as updates to the Shorts player, the introduction of templates, and a new trends page accessible on mobile devices. These updates are part of YouTube’s strategy to strengthen its position against TikTok, which currently supports longer videos and features that facilitate user participation in trends.
With the updates, YouTube aims to streamline the Shorts experience for both creators and viewers. The revamped Shorts player is designed to enhance the visual presentation of videos by placing creators’ content front and center. This new design modifies the interaction buttons—such as like, comment, and share—transforming them from filled icons to outlined ones on the right side of the screen. This change allows viewers to better appreciate the video content without being distracted by interface elements.
Additionally, the creator’s name, video description, and sound information have been compressed to occupy less space at the bottom of the screen. However, this alteration means that video descriptions may be truncated, requiring users to click a “more” button to view the entire text. While this could improve the overall aesthetic of the Shorts player, it may also limit the information accessible at a glance.
YouTube has also introduced templates, which are expected to facilitate the process for creators and users to engage with current trends. This move comes in response to TikTok’s success with its editing app, CapCut, which allows users to quickly modify and remix trending videos. YouTube users will now have the option to tap a “Remix” button on a Short and select “Use this template” to create their own video. In the coming months, users will gain even more flexibility, as they will be able to access content directly from the Shorts camera, simplifying the process of remixing clips from popular videos or music.
In an effort to keep users informed about trending content, YouTube is launching a new page dedicated to the latest trends on mobile. This feature will allow users to discover popular trends within their own country, providing a distinct approach compared to TikTok’s method, which primarily showcases trends through the For You feed or search function. TikTok recently replaced its Discover page with a Friends tab, emphasizing social interactions over trend discovery.
Despite TikTok’s global reach, which enables users to explore trends from various countries, YouTube is focusing on local trends to inspire creativity among its users. One notable example of a trend that gained international attention is the viral baby hippo, Moo Deng, which even became the subject of a skit on “Saturday Night Live.”
YouTube also plans to implement a feature that will allow users to preview comments on videos directly from the Shorts feed. This change could potentially increase user engagement but may also lead to the proliferation of “rage bait” content—videos designed to provoke strong reactions for higher engagement rates.
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Another user-friendly update allows viewers to customize their Shorts experience by controlling how much Shorts content appears in their feeds. This can be accessed via a new “Show fewer Shorts” option, located in the three-dot menu in the upper right corner of the Shorts grid. However, YouTube notes that this setting will only temporarily reduce the amount of Shorts content displayed. The platform did not specify how long this pause would last.
Additionally, a previously announced feature involving Google DeepMind’s video-generating AI model, Veo, is expected to roll out later this year. This update will enable creators to alter video backgrounds or publish standalone video clips, further expanding creative possibilities for content production.
