YouTube Go, a new video-sharing platform for offline viewing

India is home to many great inventions and discoveries like concept of Zero, game of Chess, Yoga etc. And now we have another addition to this list- Youtube Go. Well, I am not saying this; its Google.

At the second edition of its signature Google for India event, the tech giant announced a brand new app, YouTube Go — designed and built from insights gathered from India. YouTube Go has been designed to broaden the reach of the video-sharing platform especially in areas with limited connectivity.

Speaking at the launch of YouTube Go, Johanna Wright, YouTube Vice President for Product Management, said, “We’ve always believed that connectivity should not be a barrier to watching YouTube. In 2014 we launched YouTube Offline so you could watch videos without suffering from buffering. A few months ago we rolled out Smart Offline, a feature that allows you to schedule videos to be saved offline later at off-peak times, when there’s more bandwidth so data is faster and cheaper. But we realized that for the next generation of YouTube users to fully discover all that YouTube has to offer, we had to reimagine the YouTube mobile app from the ground up.”

YouTube Go allows users to save videos for offline viewing, giving options over quality and file size so it's clear how much data a download will use. The app also allows for local sharing with nearby users without using any data. YouTube Go builds upon the Smart Offline feature that YouTube launched first in India earlier this year.

The company says that four words sum up the YouTube Go’s experience: offline-first, cost-effective, social and relatable.

● Find and discover relatable videos right on the home screen: YouTube Go homescreen features trending and popular videos in your area, so that you’ll find and fall in love with new videos that you and your community care about.

● Preview videos before you save or watch: Not sure if you want to watch the video? On YouTube Go when you tap on a thumbnail, it’ll trigger a quick preview of the video, giving you a better sense of what the video is about before you decide to save or play it.

● Choose your resolution when saving or streaming videos: Whether you’d like to save a video for offline viewing later, or stream it now, you can see and choose the amount of data you’d like to spend on that video.

● Share videos with friends nearby: Share videos with friends and family nearby without using any data. You can send and receive videos instantly and offline with others using the YouTube Go app.

Indian users can sign up now to test YouTube Go, but there's no word on when the app will formally launch in the country or elsewhere.