YouTube is rolling back its recently mini-player redesign for some users after widespread complaints about the change. The redesigned mini player, released for Android and iOS earlier this year, allowed users to double-tap to resize and move it to the corners of the screen.
Despite the increased flexibility, many users found the new design intrusive and buggy. Issues like disappearing controls further marred the experience. This led to calls for the return of the classic mini-player, which was simpler and more reliable.
The withdrawal brought back YouTube’s classic mini-player, featuring a fixed video window with simple play, pause, and close buttons. A report from Android Police also confirmed that users running version 19.45.36 of the YouTube app on devices such as the Pixel 9 Pro have restored the classic mini player.
However, the change appears to be a server-side update, as some users, who use the same version of the app, are still stuck with the redesigned mini-player. YouTube has yet to officially announce or comment on the rollback, so the scope of this update remains unclear.
Meanwhile, this is not YouTube’s only recent experiment that has caused user dissatisfaction. The platform is also reportedly testing a swipe-to-scroll feature for long videos on Android, replacing the familiar swipe-down gesture to exit full-screen mode.
As with the mini-player redesign, this change has been criticized by users who find it unintuitive and intrusive. Many argue that adapting the navigation to short-form platforms like YouTube Shorts and TikTok sacrifices usability for longer-form content, which requires more targeted interaction.
Overall, these experiments highlight YouTube’s commitment to creating a consistent experience across all video formats, but also highlight the challenges of implementing changes that satisfy a large and diverse user base of approximately 2.7 billion people.
YouTube’s decision to roll back the mini-player redesign shows a willingness to adapt to feedback, but the partial and device-dependent nature of the rollback suggests it may still be an experiment.
It remains unclear whether the swipe-to-scroll feature will suffer the same fate as the mini-player, but these updates reveal the growing tension between innovation and maintaining established user habits.
