After its official announcement last September, everything seems ready for YouTube Go to debut on the Play Store. YouTube Go will be a lite version of the original app, with several optimizations aimed at low-cost devices, unstable connections, and limited data plans. However, the most important aspect is that it will allow downloading videos for later offline playback, something YouTube has not always looked favorably upon.
Mobile users are tired of using inefficient apps that demand hundreds of megabytes of space, drain the battery, and exhaust data plans in record time. One of the most publicized examples is the Facebook app, which ranks high in areas like worst performance and highest energy consumption. Add to that the fact that the vast majority of devices in circulation are of a mid-to-low range, and it's clear that developers need to change their strategy. Facebook rose to the challenge by launching Facebook Lite, and today that app already has more than 200 million users. Google promised to do something similar last September with YouTube, and announced the YouTube Go app, designed for the Indian market.
After several months in the background and with closed testing, YouTube Go appeared on the Play Store, although it still carries the "Unreleased" label and is considered "Early Access". Reducing data consumption is the priority for YouTube Go, and it all starts with the size of the APK, which does not exceed ten megabytes (8.5 MB to be precise). The interface presents very valuable details such as the duration of each video and its estimated size, but there's more. YouTube Go has an improved version of the famous offline mode that the service launched in 2014. The user can choose between a basic quality that serves as a preview, and the standard edition to play immediately, or download to the device. While we expect more flexibility, it's necessary to remember that not all videos will be available offline. As if that weren't enough, the user will have the possibility to share videos using Wi-Fi Direct.
The only technical detail left to mention is that YouTube Go requires Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as a minimum, meaning it will work on the vast majority of devices out there. Personally, I hope YouTube Go is the first of many "lite" apps from Google. There are other modules that urgently need optimization (Google Play Services, we're looking at you), and if Facebook Lite taught the social network that "less is more", the Mountain View giant can learn the same lesson.
