YouTube Android TV App Gets Autoplay Video Previews For All Content

In a limited rollout, the YouTube app on Android TV is getting the ability to autoplay video previews for all content on the app. Notably, this feature is available for a limited number of users on both Android TV and Google TV.

According to a report by 9To5Google, this new autoplay video preview feature is similar to what you have on the desktop and mobile versions of the YouTube app.

This feature works when you scroll through the videos showcased on your YouTube app’s home screen. When you stop the scroller on any video, it will play a preview of the video for a few seconds, along with the audio.

On the desktop or mobile versions of the app, the video plays entirely. Instead, on Android TV and Google TV, the videos will play a portion of it.

The feature is called “Previews with sound” and it will play a snippet from the video along with the audio. It can be a bit annoying for some users who want to keep things silent. So, better tune down the volume before you scroll YouTube now.

The feature was available on Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield TV, and more

However, there is no clarity on how widespread Google has started rolling out this YouTube feature on both Android TV and Google TV.

As noted by 9To5Google, they were able to view this feature working absolutely fine on devices including Chromecast with Google TV, XGIMI Horizon Pro 4K projector, and Nvidia Shield TV.

This also includes several other devices, including various Android TV set-top boxes. This hints that the testing is done on a decent scale and is available for a wide range of products.

Another thing to note about this “Preview with sound” feature, currently under testing for YouTube on Android TV and Google TV, is that the video will continue to play from the point where you click on it.

Meaning the video preview portion of the video won’t repeat when you make a selection. Most users would find this feature annoying. More annoying is that this feature is enabled by default. You will have to manually disable it.

Thankfully, there is an option to disable it, even though you have to do it manually. If you aren’t a fan of this new “Preview with sound” YouTube feature, then you need to head over to Settings > Preview with sound > Off.