From the creators of "We will remove the Dislike button because it causes anxiety", comes "Goodbye, YouTube Go". That's right: the masterminds at Mountain View have decided to stop development of YouTube Go, and the app will disappear completely next August. With it, one of the most useful features for mobile users will also vanish: downloading and offline playback of videos. Repeating the same strategy we used with YouTube Vanced, today we return to the desert to find the best alternatives to YouTube Go, and luckily, things haven't changed much…
The official version, and the 'official' version
Google's explanation is that the standard YouTube app already has the appropriate performance improvements to work correctly on basic hardware. At the same time, it highlights the absence of specific features in YouTube Go such as dark mode, and the ability to leave comments, two things many users seem to have requested.
However… YouTube Go supports downloading and offline playback of videos, generally available behind YouTube Premium's paywall. The suspicion is that Mountain View is killing two birds with one stone, saving development resources on one hand, and giving an extra push to users towards YouTube Premium on the other. Obviously, we don't plan to give up so easily, and today we'll review the best alternatives to YouTube Go.
Best alternatives to YouTube Go: SkyTube
One of my main criticisms of SkyTube at the time was the lack of updates. Fortunately, the most recent build, 2.981, is less than three weeks old. In addition to incorporating adjustments that respond to the latest changes in YouTube, SkyTube also adds dozens of translations. We still detect occasional API errors in the featured section, but when it comes to downloading and playing videos offline, it works very well.
NewPipe
Another alternative to YouTube Go that keeps receiving updates is NewPipe, a frontend that doesn't depend on Google's wizardry in the background. One detail when downloading and playing videos offline with NewPipe is that you must open the video first to access it. In other words, it's not possible to get a copy from the search results, but the client compensates with greater control over quality, size, and number of threads.
Dentex YTD
Unlike what happens with SkyTube and NewPipe, Dentex YTD focuses only on downloading. Once you've located the video, tap the three dots, choose the best format, and confirm. Dentex YTD requires manually downloading its APK from the official page (it's not even on F-Droid), and has some logical limitations like videos that require login or those blocked by geographic location, but it's not bad at all, and you should try it.
