How to access the YouTube navigation drawer in Android like a pro?

If you browse YouTube regularly you may have noticed the updated design that kicked in last month. YouTube added a bunch of features to its platform and even tweaked some visual aspects of the app. One of the major changes to the design layout was the inclusion of the ‘navigation drawer’ which allowed users to view the categories of YouTube videos in one place. In this article, we explain what the YouTube navigation drawer is, and how it can be accessed.

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What is the YouTube navigation drawer?

The YouTube navigation drawer is where you can explore new videos and content creators by different categories. These categories include Trending, Shopping, Music, Films, Live, Gaming, News, Sport, Learning, and Fashion & Beauty. 

The trending page curates the most popular videos being watched in your region right now. YouTube does not publicise the algorithm that decides which videos get to feature on the Trending tab. It is assumed that the videos that feature there are the most popular newer videos in your region. The trending page is further divided into Music, Gaming, and Films subsections.

Other categories like Sport, Shopping, and Music suggest popular videos depending on the content you want to watch. You can use these categories to explore what other people are watching as well as come across new content creators within the genres that you enjoy watching.

You can access the YouTube navigation drawer simply by side-swiping from the left side of the screen. You can also open the navigation drawer by clicking on the ‘compass’ icon at the top of the homepage. Previously, called the Explore section, the YouTube navigation drawer now contains all those features.

Other features added by YouTube

YouTube also added a bunch of other features in the new design update. The new ‘Ambient Mode’ uses dynamic colour sampling to match the background with the colour palette of the video you are watching. YouTube also updated its dark theme and made it even darker. 

Apart from that, YouTube also tweaked the app formatting a little. The links to other videos in the video description now show up as buttons. The ‘like’, ‘share’, and ‘download’ buttons have been formatted as well. You can also pinch the screen while watching a video to zoom into a particular part of the frame. With Precise Seeking you can jump entire chapters in a video with just a few taps. You can also jump to specific parts of the video by simply dragging or swiping up while seeking to display a row of thumbnails in the video player.

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The company via blog post made the announcement which said, ” YouTube just celebrated its 17th birthday earlier this year and we wondered if it was time to give it a small makeover. So we gathered input from thousands of viewers around the world and heard there was a desire for a cleaner, more lively design that better represents what we’re all about. Starting today, we are rolling out a new look and several features that offer a more modern and immersive viewing experience while also improving how users watch videos. But don’t worry, the same YouTube you know and love is still at our core.”