14 DAY TRIAL // In September last year, YouTube announced a new version of its main mobile app. YouTube Go was designed to work offline and provide cost-effective services. The app makes sure that users don’t waste all of their mobile data while watching videos on YouTube.
YouTube Go was announced and tested in 15 cities in India, being addressed to users from countries were mobile data isn’t cheap and video streaming isn’t ideal, especially on peak hours when many people are online. The application works with low or no connectivity whatsoever.
Now, Google has just launched the YouTube Go beta app in the Play store. Users can download the application and start saving videos to their devices or SD card for offline viewing. Mobile data usage would be reduced, especially when watching videos while commuting.
Multiple video quality options
When tapping on a view, YouTube Go offers users the option to download videos in two available resolutions: “basic quality” (which applies to 144p) and “standard quality” (which is 360p). However, the app won’t allow viewers to download videos in HD and this shouldn’t be surprising, considering that the app is designed for regions with slow Internet speed and devices with small storage capacities.
Videos can be shared with friends via Bluetooth, but the YouTube Go listing does reveal that this feature requires access to the Internet in order to perform a 15KB security check when the video is received. The app is small in size, just 8.5MB and lets users choose how many MBs are used when watching or downloading videos.
YouTube GO isn’t available in all regions right now and the beta version could be a bit unstable. It’s worth mentioning that the app requires the user’s phone number for verification. We expect Google to gradually make this app available in many more countries and perhaps add 720p or 1080p video download options as well.