Fast access to activity-based recommendations and seven new personalized playlists
YouTube Music is Google's music streaming champion now, and today it's getting a major upgrade that takes personalization to a whole new level. From seven brand new personalized playlists to a tabbed homescreen that gives quick access to activity-based recommendations, today's update makes getting to the music you want to hear easier than ever.
The playlist changes coming today are definitely welcome, and make YouTube Music a bit more attractive when compared with alternatives like Spotify. Your Mix is being renamed to My Supermix, but the big deal is that users will now see up to seven additional mixes that each feature a different selection of music based on what you like to hear. These will come in handy when you don't know exactly what to listen to, but have a specific vibe in mind. The new mixes are going live on Android and the web now.
Here are my seven mixes, along with new looks for playlist cover art.
These are the same mixes spotted in testing last month. While these new mixes are nice to have, they aren't very glanceable, with titles distinguished only by numbers and gradient cover art that seems to have no relation to the music contained within.
In addition, the app will now feature an "activity bar" that provides easy access to four featured activities: Workout, Focus, Relax, and Commute. Tapping on one of the activities brings up its dedicated homepage with playlists and recommendations meant to pair well with the selected undertaking. We saw this roll out to some users last month, but today it's starting to go live for everyone.
Each activity has a dedicated home page with targeted music and recommendations.
This section feels a bit redundant, since YouTube Music is already supposed to offer location-based recommendations on the homescreen, but it's still an addition that should be appreciated by those who prefer to do things manually, or don't want to give the app access to location data.
YouTube Music may have a ways to go before it reaches feature parity with Google Play Music, but these updates show that Google's latest music streaming service of choice is continuing to pick up momentum. To check out these updates for yourself, download the latest version of YouTube Music from APK Mirror or the Play Store.
