YouTube for iOS lets viewers watch the next or previous video while swiping

YouTube is adding a feature to its iOS app that allows users to watch the next movie in the list by swiping left or right. The new feature should be available later this week.

A swipe to the left starts the next video, a swipe to the right takes the user to the previous video. According to TechCrunch, the previous video starts playing where the viewer stopped on a previous view. The new feature works in both landscape and portrait mode.

Swiping should make it easier to browse content on YouTube. The video service may hope that the viewer stays longer in this way, which can generate additional advertising revenue. It is not the first gesture that YouTube adds to the app. In 2017, the service already introduced double tapping on the left or right side of the screen to rewind or fast forward ten seconds.

iOS users can expect the swipe feature later this week. It is not yet known when the new feature will come to the Android platform.

Update, 4:02 PM: some readers report that YouTube also supports swipe on their Android device. This is not yet the case on our test devices, so it seems that the function for this platform has not yet been rolled out en masse.