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Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
Earlier this month, the builders of Vanced — an unofficial feature-rich YouTube app for Android — introduced that the venture would shut down completely, following a cease-and-desist letter from Google. Whereas current installs will proceed to work till YouTube modifications its API, it’s doubtless solely a matter of time earlier than that occurs.
Opposite to in style perception, Vanced didn’t simply block pre-roll video advertisements or unlock YouTube Premium options like background playback. At the same time as a long-time YouTube Premium subscriber myself, I discovered that Vanced drastically improved the platform’s total usability. With the app now destined for the grave, nonetheless, I’m bracing myself for the adjustment interval that going again to the official app will entail. To that finish, listed below are the six Vanced options I’ll miss probably the most.
Learn extra: Your information to all of the YouTube companies
Granular decision preferences
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
In its present type, the YouTube app lets you choose between three completely different video high quality settings — Auto, Greater image high quality, or Information saver. Most individuals, together with myself, would favor a 1080p stream whereas related to a Wi-Fi community. Nevertheless, the app’s definition of “Greater image high quality” nearly at all times interprets to a baseline of 480p. That’s baffling, contemplating that YouTube not labels 720p as HD by itself platform.
Vanced presents a significantly better choice — merely decide your default decision, with granularity starting from 144p all the best way as much as 2160p. You may even set a most well-liked video velocity in the event you normally watch your movies at 1.5x or 2x speeds.
The app additionally allows you to disable YouTube’s new decision picker UI. With Vanced, I by no means need to enter a menu. However even once I do, my most well-liked decision is one fewer faucet away.
See additionally: How a lot information does YouTube really use?
Time-stamped share hyperlinks
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
Time-stamped sharing exists on desktop, however not cell.
On desktop, YouTube means that you can generate video hyperlinks with embedded timestamps. With so many movies on the platform exceeding the ten-minute mark nowadays, the characteristic turns out to be useful if you wish to share a brief snippet or phase. I’ve at all times wished that the cell app provided this performance, particularly since I’m extra more likely to share movies from a smartphone than a pc.
I’m extra more likely to share from my telephone, so I’ve at all times wished that the cell app provided this.
In 2021, Vanced launched the power to share time-stamped video hyperlinks with a particular icon within the video participant. It really works precisely as you’d count on: When you allow the characteristic throughout the Vanced settings menu, tapping the icon instantly copies a time-stamped hyperlink to your clipboard.
Restored video dislike counts
Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
As you will have heard, YouTube eliminated the hate counter from public view late final 12 months. The corporate mentioned the transfer was aimed toward encouraging significant discourse between creators and their audiences. Nevertheless, many customers relied on this counter as a glanceable barometer of video high quality and technical accuracy. Within the training and DIY area of interest, for instance, excessive dislike ratios can function an early warning towards potential misinformation and even outright harmful recommendation.
Fortunately, it didn’t take lengthy for Vanced to convey again the hate depend — because of its collaboration with Return YouTube Dislike (RYD). In its unique type, RYD is a browser extension that makes use of pre-2022 information and “extrapolated extension consumer conduct” to reinstate dislike counts on YouTube. It’s not 100% correct, in fact, however the information works nicely sufficient for the aforementioned use case.
True darkish theme and consumer interface tweaks
Whereas a easy black theme doesn’t look like a lot of a characteristic, it was one of many largest promoting factors for Vanced early on. Actually, YouTube didn’t even supply a darkish theme when Vanced was in its infancy. And even when Google launched a darkish mode alongside Android 10 in 2018, it opted for a darkish grey as an alternative of true black. The latter merely appears to be like higher in my view and has a helpful side-effect too: diminished battery consumption on AMOLED shows, by Google’s personal admission.
Vanced presents a real black theme and allows you to conceal sure elements of YouTube like Tales or the Create button.
Vanced doesn’t simply cease at providing a black theme both. It additionally means that you can allow or disable sure elements of the app, together with data playing cards, the YouTube Tales part, and the create button, amongst others. You may tailor the app’s interface — and thus your YouTube expertise — precisely to your tastes.
Gesture controls
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
Whereas gesture management is among the many interface options you’ll discover in Vanced, it deserves its personal part. Put merely, this lets you modify brightness and quantity ranges by way of swipe gestures. The left aspect controls brightness, whereas the appropriate one will increase or decreases the amount. The Vanced settings menu additionally allows you to set a minimal swipe threshold to stop unintended changes.
Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
In a nutshell, SponsorBlock means that you can robotically skip in-ad sponsor segments, previews, finish credit, and different such sections. I’ll be the primary to confess; it’s a controversial piece of software program. Nevertheless, when you begin utilizing it, it’s laborious to disregard the time saved. On common, I’ve discovered that the characteristic can lower out a number of minutes of filler content material. That may rapidly add as much as a number of hours over just a few months.
Whereas YouTube won’t ever add such performance to its app, it’s a characteristic that gained many customers over to Vanced. Fortunately, the open-source group has already forked NewPipe — a well-liked YouTube app — to combine SponsorBlock performance. Equally, I’m hopeful that it’s solely a matter of time earlier than an entirely viable substitute to Vanced comes alongside.
Which YouTube Vanced characteristic will you miss probably the most?
231 votes
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