YouTube takes baby steps to become a true podcast app

New coming to YouTube will make it even better to listen to podcasts, continuing for Premium subscribers starting today on Android and coming later to iOS.

“On the go view” changes YouTube to the first view, with bigger buttons, easier to play, fixed image instead of video, and time to show video titles. YouTube says you can turn on the new feature on the video player — a pop-up will also appear if YouTube detects you’re scrolling while watching a video.

If you want to speed up your podcasts so they go through episodes faster, YouTube’s new speed feature can help you do just that. It automatically adjusts the playback speed based on the video content and the minimum speed you set. During a short or very important video or podcast, it speeds up playback and returns to your original speed afterwards.

YouTube is also expanding its Ask Music AI search feature to include podcasts. In the YouTube Music app, you can use chatbot notifications to ask for podcast preferences based on genre, activity, or producer. Spotify also started offering podcast ideas through chatbot conversations earlier this year.