According to Protocol, YouTube TV, Google’s answer to cable TV, is working on a new feature that would allow users to watch up to four live streams simultaneously. This mode will be named “Mosaic Mode.” This is according to a presentation that Google delivered to its smart TV hardware partners, which was not open to the public. During this presentation, the search giant also revealed upcoming enhancements for YouTube Shorts when viewed on a large screen and additional capabilities for YouTube Music.
The PlayStation Vue service, which Sony has since discontinued, used to offer a function analogous to what is currently known as Mosaic Mode. Protocol notes that the feature will eventually arrive on non-Android smart TVs from Samsung and LG, given that Google likes to keep its services consistent across different hardware. Even though it was announced in a presentation for Google TV and Android TV hardware manufacturers, Protocol notes that the feature will likely arrive on non-Android smart TVs eventually.
Other new features highlighted in the presentation include improvements for YouTube Shorts, a short-form video service similar to TikTok offered by the business. These optimizations are designed to work better when seen on larger screens.
According to the source, the user interface for YouTube Shorts on smart TVs may ultimately do away with the scroll bar used to scrub through standard YouTube videos and provide easy access to the thumbs up and thumbs down buttons. Even though YouTube Shorts may presently be seen in the YouTube app on select smart TVs (such as LG’s), they play using YouTube’s standard interface, which is not well suited for the short-form nature of the videos.
TikTok has been more successful in penetrating the market for smart TVs, which coincides with Google’s decision to build this function. TikTok is now accessible on various smart TV platforms, including those offered by Samsung, LG, Google, and Amazon. This is even though the app has generally been viewed as a mobile-only service. But Protocol argues that Google has the benefit since YouTube is pre-installed on many TVs, but buyers need to seek out TikTok’s apps explicitly. This is an advantage that Protocol attributes to Google.
YouTube Music will also soon release a few new features optimized for smart TVs. One of these is the capacity for users to explore playlists and albums and add them to their libraries.
Google did not immediately respond to the request for a response by The Verge; nevertheless, Protocol claims that at least one of the new capabilities might emerge in an update “in the coming months.”
