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New YouTube Android app hints at offline viewing, background listening


Popular video-sharing service YouTube has built in support for a new "Uninterrupted Playback" subscription service and features such as offline video, an Android enthusiast site reported this week.
 
AndroidPolice said these features were discovered in a teardown of the latest version of YouTube for the Android operating system.
 
"(T)here are framework elements for the upcoming YouTube subscription service, 'Uninterrupted Playback,' an offline video mode, and background music listening," AndroidPolice's Jeremiah Rice said in a blog post.
 
Rice said strings found in the YouTube 5.3 app hint at a "separate page or popup" urging users to upgrade to "Music Pass," which he said could be YouTube's upcoming subscription service.
 
Also found in the app is a string indicating "Offline playback" but it was not immediately clear if it would be for music, video, or both.
 
Mentioned as well were background listening, "uninterrupted music," and "no ads on millions of songs," he added.
 
"It's likely that Google needed to negotiate the rights for the YouTube Music Pass service separately from Google Play Music since music videos are legally and commercially distinct from their songs. So does that mean that the service is truly ad-free, or that a portion of the songs and/or music videos on offer will have ads that further benefit the music labels? There's no way to know at the moment," Rice said.
 
As for offline playback and background listening, Rice said they are mentioned in the context of Music Pass.
 
"It's possible that these features might be limited to paid subscribers. Again, there's no way to confirm or deny that with the information here," he said.
 
Rice also cited a string reference to something called the "exo player." — TJD, GMA News
Tags: youtube