Google has announced it is testing a new Explore feature on YouTube that it claims will better help users to come across more interesting videos, of the sort they prefer viewing. The above feature is however applicable to only iPhone users, with just about 1 percent of the users getting the new Explore feature.
Of course, all of it is still in the development stages and will be rolled out to the rest of the users once the technology behind it is perfected. Google also explained the Explore tab will be different from the Recommended content in that it will aim to offer more video content from a broader topic range than just using the browsing history and subscription content to offer more videos, as the Recommended feature works on.
As Tom Leung, Director of Product Management at YouTube puts in, anyone who is watching a video on say, telescopes will also be served videos on high-end cameras and so on. This way, users won’t have to deviate from their viewing preferences while their viewing scope will still get stretched to include new content that the user might end up liking as well. This way, Google aims to get the user drawn to newer content while enhancing their viewing preferences.
The user will also be introduced to new creators and channels, content that the user is not likely to get across otherwise. The company, however, didn’t elaborate how exactly the Explore tab will be functioning to present users with new content while still sticking to the user’s broader viewing preferences.
Another change to be seen with the introduction of the new Explore tab is that the Trending tab will lose its prominence from here onwards. It won’t be dead though but will henceforth be merged inside the Explore tab. That said, this arrangement is expected to last only till the time the test is going to be conducted, which is only about a few weeks at the most.
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Google hasn’t stated when the Explore tab will see a wider roll out across the entire iPhone clan. Also not known is when YouTube’s Android app too will be getting the Explore button and so on.
