Key Takeaways
- Subscribing on YouTube for smart TVs is now easier with a prominent subscribe button in the video player UI.
- The change is appearing on Android TV and Google TV on devices like the Google TV Streamer and smart TVs.
- Individual like and dislike buttons have returned after being nested in September.
After making it easier than ever to swap between accounts on the YouTube app for Android TVs and introducing the Stable volume feature on Android TV and Google TV, the streaming giant is now making yet another change that simply makes sense, this time, in the form of a more prominent subscribe button in the player’s UI on the YouTube app for smart TVs.
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Subscribing to your favorite YouTube creators is an easy way to show support and stay in the know about their latest uploads, with YouTube’s latest move making subscribing easier than ever before, at least on TVs. Previously, subscribing to a creator mid-video was a multi-click process. You’d have to tap the up arrow key on your remote to pull up the video player UI and navigate to the channel icon. You’d then have to tap the icon to surface the creator’s channel pane, giving you an option to subscribe.
As spotted by 9to5Google, YouTube for Android TV is now surfacing a large Subscribe button right within the video player UI, making the process of subscribing a lot more intuitive. It’s worth noting that the button doesn’t surface if you’re watching a video from a creator you’re already subscribed to. We’re also seeing the change live on the Google TV Streamer and a Hisense TV running Google TV.
Individual like and dislike buttons return
Elsewhere, eagle-eyed users might have also noticed the individual like and dislike buttons making a comeback, as seen in the image above. The two buttons were merged into a single one back in September, and tapping the merged button would bring up a small pop-up menu with the individual like and dislike buttons. The change essentially converted a one-tap process into a two-tap one.
At the time, the change hadn’t rolled out widely, and it looks like Google is rethinking it as it has brought back the individual buttons. The change, complete with the arrival of the large Subscribe button, does take up a lot of screen real estate, but that shouldn’t really be a problem on TVs, especially since the video player UI is only visible when performing very specific actions like opening comments, adjusting video quality, rewinding or fast-forwarding a video, etc.