The latest update for the YouTube Android app introduces a double tap to seek feature which allows users to quickly skip forward or rewind videos by ten seconds. As its name suggests, you can take advantage of the new functionality by simply double-tapping the left or the right side of the YouTube video you’re currently watching. Doing so will present you with a fast-forward or a rewind icon for a second and momentarily skip or roll back a portion of your video. The feature works regardless of whether the YouTube app is in portrait or landscape mode. The double tap to seek feature initially debuted in December when the YouTube app version 11.47 started rolling out, but it’s only been enabled by default since yesterday when the 12.03 build became available for download. As such, it’s possible that this feature was triggered using a server-side update, but you should probably update your YouTube app just to make sure you’ll get access to the new functionality.
While not a major feature by most standards, this addition to the YouTube app still makes fast-forwarding and rewinding videos a bit more convenient, especially since it works instantly and its effects can even be stacked. For example, tapping the left side of the screen four times will rewind the video by 20 seconds, and tapping the right side six times will fast-forward the clip by half a minute. Seeing how the user interface is extremely responsive and instantly shows how many times you’ve activated the double tap to seek feature, navigating YouTube videos is now easier than ever. Also, while chances of going too far ahead or behind are fairly minimal, correcting your mistake is also as simple as double-tapping the opposite side of the user interface.
The update for the YouTube Android app with support for the double tap to seek feature started rolling out on Monday and should be available for download worldwide in the coming days. You can check whether the latest YouTube app update is available in your territory by following the Google Play Store link below. The Google-owned video service has recently been hard at work improving its Android app and more useful additions will likely follow in the near future.